The Many Wild Accidents That Led to Peter Gunn
Original Airdates: July 5-8, 2024
TVC 654.5: Ed welcomes back esteemed music journalist and music historian Jon Burlingame (Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring). Jon’s latest book, Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir, is a combination history of Peter Gunn (NBC/ABC, 1958-1961) on television; biography of Grammy Award-winning and Academy Award-winning composer Henry Mancini; and discography of all of the original music that Henry Mancini composed for both Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky (CBS, 1959-1960) and the soundtrack albums that accompanied both series. Topics this segment include the many moments of serendipity that enabled series creator/producer Blake Edwards to get Peter Gunn on the air and hire Mancini; how Mancini changed the face and sound of prime time television by introducing jazz music as dramatic accompaniment; and the sheer volume of original music that Mancini composed for both Gunn and Mr. Lucky every week between 1958 and 1961. Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir is available from BearManor Media.
Craig Stevens, Lola Albright, and Peter Gunn
Original Airdates: July 5-8, 2024
TVC 654.6: Music journalist Jon Burlingame (Music for Prime Time, Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir) discusses some of the many innovations that Blake Edwards and Peter Gunn brought to network television (including “night for night” shooting, one year before Quinn Martin would make that into an art form), and how the romance between Peter Gunn and Edie Hart was very provocative for its time. Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir is available from BearManor Media.
Henry Mancini and The Music of Peter Gunn
Original Airdates: July 12-15, 2024
TVC 654.1: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with music journalist and music historian Jon Burlingame (Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring). Jon’s latest book, Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir, is a combination history of Peter Gunn (NBC/ABC, 1958-1961) on television; biography of Grammy Award-winning and Academy Award-winning composer Henry Mancini; and discography of all of the original music that Henry Mancini composed for both Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky (CBS, 1959-1960) and the soundtrack albums that accompanied both series. Topics this segment include the pivotal role that Alan Livingston, then head of programming for NBC, played in releasing Mancini’s music for Peter Gunn as a soundtrack album, how Mancini handpicked many of the musicians who recorded with him on both Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky, including John Williams and Bob Bain. Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir is available from BearManor Media.
Blake Edwards, Henry Mancini, and Mr. Lucky
Original Airdates: July 12-15, 2024
TVC 653.2: Music journalist Jon Burlingame (Music for Prime Time, Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir) talks to Ed about how Blake Edwards came to develop Mr. Lucky (CBS, 1959-1960) for television, including how Edwards originally wanted Ricardo Montalban to play the title character and how Ross Martin wasn’t signed to play Andamo just before production began. Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir is available from BearManor Media.
Blake Edwards, Mr. Lucky, and The Smiling Cobra
Original Airdates: July 12-15, 2024
TVC 654.3: Music journalist Jon Burlingame (Music for Prime Time, Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir) talks to Ed about the strange, but true broadcast history of Mr. Lucky (CBS, 1959-1960), including how the ill-conceived mandate from the show’s sponsor, Lever Brothers, to change the concept of Mr. Lucky midseason ultimately drove producer Blake Edwards to remove his name from the series. Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir is available from BearManor Media.
The Music of Henry Mancini
Original Airdates: July 12-15, 2024
TVC 654.4: Music journalist Jon Burlingame (Music for Prime Time, Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir) talks about Henry Mancini’s work in motion pictures, including how Mancini proved that a great composer could also be a great songwriter (which he did, with “Moon River”), and how Mancini’s many appearances on television (beginning with the Andy Williams special that aired on NBC on May 4, 1962), coupled with his many public appearances, made him one of the first composers to become a household name. Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir is available from BearManor Media.
2 Responses to TV CONFIDENTIAL Show Nos. 653 and 654 with guest Jon Burlingame is now available for listening on demand as a free podcast