I see that the producer of one of my all-time favorite television shows has died. Here's the start of the nytimes obituary.
Marshall Jamison, the first producer for the 1960's satirical review "That Was the Week That Was" on American television, died Sept. 2 in Orlando, Fla., where he lived. He was 85."That Was the Week That Was," often known by the shorthand "T.W.3," came to American television from Britain, where it had satirized the week's events. In the United States, the program was broadcast on NBC for two television seasons, beginning in 1964.
Though some critics said the American child lacked the sharp teeth of its British parent, the show was controversial in the United States, and Mr. Jamison found himself part of that controversy when it was abruptly announced in June of 1964 that he was resigning as producer. He said then that he felt the network and the production company were wrong to try to make "T.W.3" into "a popular, mass-appeal network show."
Ah, that brings back memories. Nancy Ames sang the theme song every week. When the Goldwater campaign pre-empted the show by buying air time in the show's time slot she sang:
The GOP bought three more weeks of our space
They could keep us off until after the race
So we'll say Merry Christmas right now just in case
From That Was The Week That Was.
TW3 was the show that gave David Frost his start in American television. It regularly showcased the satirical songs of Tom Lehrer. It featured some terrific writers and performers whom I had never seen before but who went on to have long careers: Alan Alda, Buck Henry, Woody Allen (he did a monlogue where he talked about how he got a job where he was paid to "look Jewish"), Bob Dishy, Phyllis Newman, and many, many others.
It was The Daily Show of its time.
Posted by jt at September 22, 2003 05:38 AM