Title: Hubbell Robinson Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1936-1969
Inclusive Dates: 1974

Creator:

• Robinson, Hubbell, 1904-1974

Call Number: U.S. Mss 185AF

Quantity: 0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of a former vice-president for television programming at CBS, primarily consisting of scripts related to his tenure as executive producer for the anthology series ABC Stage '67. Included are teleplays and drafts by Truman Capote, Jerome Chodorov, Sam Peckinpah, Eleanor Perry, and Murray Schisgal; an interview of Dwight D. Eisenhower by Alistair Cooke; and a comedy special with David Frost. Also included are 11 film reviews for Critic-at-Large (NBC) and a number of speeches and non-fiction articles, including several highly critical of the television industry.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0185af

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As vice-president in charge of television programming for CBS for over 13 years, Hubbell Robinson earned a reputation for his ability to present both commercially-successful and artistically-significant drama. During this period he developed such renowned series as Gunsmoke, I Love Lucy, You'll Never Get Rich (The Phil Silvers Show), and Playhouse 90.

Born in Schenectady, N.Y., on October 16, 1905, Robinson was the son of Justice Hubbell Robinson of the New York Supreme Court. After attending Phillips Exeter Academy, he graduated from Brown University in 1927. For a time following graduation, he worked as a newspaper reporter and drama critic; he then turned to radio production for the Young and Rubicam and the Foote, Cone & Belding advertising agencies. Among his credits with Young and Rubicam was the popular series The Aldrich Family (NBC). In 1947 CBS hired Robinson as head of its programming department. After 12 successful years with the network, Robinson retired to form his own production company, Hubbell Robinson Productions. In 1962, however, he returned to CBS as senior vice-president; as the result of policy disagreements with network president James T. Aubrey, Jr., he retired again shortly thereafter.

During this second period of independent production, Robinson was responsible for several television series, including the short-lived Hawk (ABC). In 1966 ABC hired him as executive producer for ABC Stage '67, a format which the network futilely hoped would revive serious drama on television. Robinson left ABC in 1969 to serve as board chairman of the journal of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and to write his memoirs. He died of lung cancer on September 5, 1974 at age 68.

The collection is small and somewhat disappointing because, despite Robinson's importance to television programming at CBS, the bulk of the material relates to his work as executive producer for ABC during the late 1960's. For the innovative dramatic anthology ABC Stage '67, the collection includes scripts and drafts by Truman Capote, Jerome Chodorov, David Frost, Sam Peckinpah, Eleanor Perry, Murray Schisgal, and others, and a shooting script for an interview of Dwight D. Eisenhower by Alistair Cooke. With the SCRIPTS for this program are eleven film reviews by Robinson which were aired by NBC's Critic-at-Large in 1969, and Who's Afraid of Mother Goose, which was produced by Robinson's independent company.

The remainder of the collection consists of SPEECHES AND ARTICLES. Among these are an early short story, two articles written in collaboration with Therese Lewis, his first wife, and a prospectus for a book concerning television news. There are also criticisms of the television industry, a number of which provide interesting background on the development and production of ABC Stage '67. MISCELLANY consists of a 1963 memorandum from Robinson concerning a proposed mystery series to be produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Hubbell Robinson, Jr., New York, N.Y., 1966-1969. Accession Number: MCHC66-124, MCHC67-148, MCHC69-163

Processing Information

Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, July 1979.

Box   1 Folder   1	Series: Biographical Material, 1966, 1974
Box   1 Folder   2	Series: Speeches and Articles, 1936-1969	⇧
	Series: Scripts	⇧
	ABC Stage '67
Box   1 Folder   3	“The Long Song of Barney Kempinski” Note: Brownstone Productions, aired September 9, 1966
	First draft script, by Murray Schisgal, March 17, 1966
Box   1 Folder   3	“Olympus 7-000” Note: Richcrisand, Inc., aired October 12, 1966
	Third draft, by Jerome Chodorov, May 31, 1966
Box   1 Folder   4	“The Confession” Note: Irving Gitlin Productions, aired October 19, 1966
	Revised draft, by David Karp, July 22, 1966
Box   1 Folder   4	“The People Trap” Note: Productions Luther Davis, aired November 9, 1966
	Shooting script, by Earl Hamner, August 5, 1966
Box   2 Folder   1	“Evening Primrose” Note: Gramercy Productions, aired November 16, 1966
	Revised script, by James Goldman, September 20, 1966
Box   2 Folder   1	“Noon Wine” Note: Talent Associates, Ltd., aired November 23, 1966
	Final revised draft, by Sam Peckinpah, October 18, 1966
Box   2 Folder   2	“On the Flip Side” Note: Aired December 7, 1966
	First draft, “Flip-Side,” by Robert Emmet, May, 1966
Box   2 Folder   2	“A Christmas Memory” Note: Francis Productions, Inc., aired December 21, 1966
	Script, by Truman Capote, c. 1966
Box   2 Folder   3	“Sex in the Sixties” Note: Irving Gitlin Productions, Inc., aired January 12, 1967
	Script, by Robert F. Goldman, c. 1966
Box   2 Folder   3	“General Dwight D. Eisenhower on the Military Churchill” Note: James Nelson Associates, aired January 26, 1967
	Outline of interview by Alistair Cooke, n.d.
Box   2 Folder   3	“David Frost's Night Out in London” Note: Aired February 2, 1967
	Script, c. 1967
Box   2 Folder   3	“I'm Getting Married” Note: Aired March 16, 1967
	Script by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, c. November 3, 1966
Box   2 Folder   4	“The Wide Open Door” Note: Gilchrist Productions, aired April 20, 1967
	Final script, by T.E. B. Clarke, revised by Tom Waldman and Frank Waldman, February 14, 1967
Box   2 Folder   5	“A Time for Laughter” Note: Aired April 6, 1967
	Incomplete script, by William Attaway, n.d.
Box   2 Folder   5	“Among the Paths to Eden” Note: Production information unknown
	Script, by Eleanor Perry, n.d.
Box   2 Folder   6	Critic-at-Large (NBC), 1967
Box   2 Folder   7	Who's Afraid of Mother Goose Note: Mother Goose Productions, in association with Young-Street Productions and Hubbell Robinson Productions, Inc., broadcast information unknown
	Final Draft script, by Frank Peppiatt and John Aylesworth, October 5, 1966
Box   2 Folder   8	Series: Miscellany, 1963	⇧