Title: Barbara A. Fishel Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1951-1965

Creator:

• Fishel, Barbara A., 1918-1986

Call Number: Mss 793

Quantity: 6.2 c.f. (16 archives boxes)

Repository:

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

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

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

Abstract:

Papers of Barbara A. Fishel, a production assistant for radio and television; consisting of annotated mimeograph scripts, timing sheets, schedules, cast lists, and other production material for NBC variety and musical programs such as the Bob Hope Buick Show, Colgate Comedy Hour, Dinah Shore Chevy Show, Jerry Lewis Show, Saturday Night Review, and Up to Paar.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00793

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Barbara Ann Fishel was born on April 18, 1918 in New York City, the daughter and first child of Thelma Minzie and Leslie H. Fishel. She graduated from Lawrence High School on Long Island in 1935, then attended Hunter and Adelphi colleges and graduated from New York University in 1939. She also attended the Bank Street Schools and was a nursery school teacher for several years in New York City, Baltimore, and Newark, New Jersey.

Dissatisfied with teaching, she began working at Doubleday's Bookstore in New York City, then moved to California where she was employed by CBS Radio in the clerical area and as a script girl. After a year with the Ralph Edwards show, she went to work for NBC-TV in Burbank where she moved from production assistant to associate director and then to assistant to the producer. She worked on a variety of programs from comedy and musicals to Academy Award extravaganzas. During this period she worked with performers such as Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Dinah Shore, and Art Carney.

In 1961 Fishel returned to New York, freelancing for a year on such shows as The Guiding Light. She then became a director in the contract department and associate producer for David Susskind's Talent Associates-Paramount, Ltd. In 1965 she joined ABC, and she worked in the production administration area and as a unit manager. During this period she worked with soap operas such as All My Children and Ryan's Hope and for the Jack Paar Show. In 1980 Fishel was struck by an automobile. She took disability leave to recuperate, after which she began working for Meet the Composer. She continued in this capacity until her final illness, and she died of cancer on May 30, 1986.

The papers document Barbara Fishel's professional career during the 1950s, the period of her life when she worked as a production assistant for NBC television programs that originated from Hollywood. The papers are largely about the programs on which she worked, and there are no personal papers in the collection. Such papers are believed to have been retained by the donor. There are also no records of her association with Susskind or her career after she returned to New York City in the early 1960s.

A large part of the collection consists of mimeographed scripts which Fishel annotated to indicate rehearsal timing and some last minute changes in dialogue. Also present are a variety of production materials including rehearsal schedules, timing rundowns, and cast lists. Because of their bulky and routine nature only a sample of the daily timing sheets for each series has been retained. A few programs such as Summer on Ice and the Bob Hope Christmas shows are represented with memoranda to and from various members of the production staff. The collection is arranged alphabetically by program title.

Most extensively documented in the papers is Fishel's work on Colgate Comedy Hour, which was NBC's attempt to counter the competition of the Ed Sullivan Show and which regularly featured stars such as Martin and Lewis, Eddie Cantor, Fred Allen, and Abbott and Costello. This file begins with the script of September 30, 1951, which was the first regular commercial program to originate in Hollywood. Other programs with which Fishel was associated which are well represented include the Bob Hope Buick Show, Dinah Shore Chevy Show, Jerry Lewis Show, Saturday Night Review, and Up to Paar.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Leslie H. Fishel, Madison, Wisconsin, 1987. Accession Number: M87-111

Processing Information

Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1991.

	Academy Awards Presentation
Box   1 Folder   1	Mimeo script (annotated), circa March 30, 1955
	Academy Awards
Box   1 Folder   2	Mimeo script (annotated), circa March 27, 1957
	Academy Awards Songs
Box   1 Folder   3	Mimeo script (annotated) by Mac Benoff, circa March 8, 1960
	Alcoa Hour
Box   1 Folder   4	“No License to Kill” mimeo script (annotated) by Alvin Boretz, circa February 3, 1957
Box   1 Folder   5	All Star Revue, 1952
	Bob Hope Show
Box   1 Folder   6	Mimeo script (annotated) by Mort Lachman and Bill Larkin, circa November 7, 1957
Box   1 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by Lachman and Larkin, February 6, 1958
Box   1 Folder   8	Mimeo script (annotated) by Lachman and Larkin, circa March 2, 1958
Box   1 Folder   9	Mimeo script fragment (annotated) by Lachman and Larkin, circa October 14, 1958
	Bob Hope Buick Show
Box   1 Folder   10	“Roberta” mimeo script (annotated), circa September 19, 1958
Box   1 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated) by Lachman, Larkin, Charles Lee, Lester White, and John Rapp, circa November 21, 1958
Box   2 Folder   1	Christmas show mimeo script (annotated), circa December 17, 1958
Box   2 Folder   2	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, and Lee, circa February 10, 1959
Box   2 Folder   3	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, and Lee, circa March 13, 1959
Box   2 Folder   4	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, and Lee, circa April 15, 1959
Box   2 Folder   5	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, Gig Henry, and Lee, circa May 15, 1959
Box   2 Folder   6	Mimeo script (annotated), by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, Henry, and Lee, circa October 8, 1959
Box   2 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, Henry, and Lee, circa November 9, 1959
Box   2 Folder   8	Christmas show mimeo script (annotated), circa December 20, 1959
Box   2 Folder   9	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, Lee and Henry, circa February 14, 1960
Box   3 Folder   1	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, Lee and Henry, circa March 26, 1960
Box   3 Folder   2	“Pontiac Madness” mimeo script (annotated) by Lachman, Larkin, Rapp, White, Henry, and Lee
Box   3 Folder   3	Mimeo script (annotated), circa May 14, 1960
Box   3 Folder   3a	Mimeo script, circa August 25, 1960
Box   3 Folder   4	Mimeo script (annotated) by Lachman, Larkin, Rapp, White, Lee, and Henry, circa December 3, 1960
Box   3 Folder   5	Christmas show mimeo script (annotated) circa December 19, 1960
Box   3 Folder   6	Mimeo script (annotated) by Lachman, Larkin, White, Rapp, Lee and Henry, circa February 15, 1961
Box   3 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Rapp, Lachman, Larkin, Lee, and Henry, circa March 26, 1961
Box   3 Folder   8	Mimeo script (annotated) by White, Tapp, Lachman, Larkin, Lee and Henry, circa March 9, 1961
	Chevy Show
Box   4 Folder   1	Mimeo script 15 (annotated) by Ed Simmons, Milt Rosen, and Tom Waldman, circa September 28, 1958
Box   4 Folder   2	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Martin Ragaway and Jack Brooks, circa March 29, 1959
Box   4 Folder   3	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa June 7, 1959
Box   4 Folder   4	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa June 14, 1959
Box   4 Folder   5	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa June 21, 1959
Box   4 Folder   6	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa June 28, 1959
Box   4 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa July 5, 1959
Box   4 Folder   8	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa July 12, 1959
Box   4 Folder   9	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa July 19, 1959
Box   4 Folder   10	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa July 26, 1959
Box   4 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated) by Simmons, Rosen, and Brooks, circa September 6, 1959
Box   4 Folder   12	Mimeo script (annotated) by Sheldon Keller, Ragaway, and Brooks, circa November 29, 1959
Box   4 Folder   13	“Hello World” mimeo script (annotated) by Keller and Brooks, circa June 4, 1961
	Chevy Mystery Show
Box   4 Folder   14	“Machine Calls It Murder” mimeo script (annotated) by Harold Swanton, circa May 29, 1960
Box   5 Folder   1	“Summer Hero” mimeo script (annotated) by Charlotte Armstrong, circa June 12, 1960
Box   5 Folder   2	“Fear is the Parent” mimeo script (annotated) by Theodore and Mathilde Ferro, circa June 26, 1960
Box   5 Folder   3	“Dead Man's Walk” mimeo script (annotated) by Stephen Kandel, circa July 7, 1960
Box   5 Folder   4	“I Know What I've Done” mimeo script (annotated) by Charles Larson, circa July 24, 1960
Box   5 Folder   5	“Trial by Fire” mimeo script 11 (annotated) by Stephen Kandel, August 7, 1960
Box   5 Folder   6	“Inspector Vanishes” mimeo script (annotated) by Norman Lessing, circa August 21, 1960
	Chrysler Rainbow of Stars
Box   5 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by George Foster and Saul Ilson, circa April 17, 1962
	Colgate Comedy Hour
Box   5 Folder   8	Mimeo script (annotated) circa September 30, 1951
Box   5 Folder   9	Mimeo script (annotated) circa October 7, 1951
Box   5 Folder   10	Mimeo script (annotated) circa October 28, 1951
Box   5 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated) circa November 4, 1951
Box   6 Folder   1	Mimeo script (annotated) circa November 11, 1951
Box   6 Folder   2	Mimeo script (annotated), circa November 18, 1951
Box   6 Folder   3	Mimeo script (annotated), circa November 25, 1951
Box   6 Folder   4	Mimeo script (annotated), circa December 2, 1951
Box   6 Folder   5	Mimeo script (annotated), circa December 9, 1951
Box   6 Folder   6	Mimeo script (annotated), circa December 16, 1951
Box   6 Folder   7	December 23, 1951
Box   6 Folder   8	December 30, 1951
Box   6 Folder   9	January 13, 1952
Box   6 Folder   10	January 20, 1952
Box   6 Folder   11	January 27, 1952
Box   6 Folder   12	Mimeo script (annotated), circa January 6, 1952
Box   6 Folder   13	Mimeo script (annotated), circa February 3, 1952
Box   6 Folder   14	February 10, 1952
Box   6 Folder   15	February 17, 1952
Box   6 Folder   16	Mimeo script (annotated), circa February 24, 1952
Box   6 Folder   17	Mimeo script (annotated), circa March 2, 1952
Box   6 Folder   18	March 9, 1952
Box   6 Folder   19	March 16, 1952
Box   6 Folder   20	March 23, 1952
Box   6 Folder   21	March 30, 1952
Box   6 Folder   22	April 13, 1952
Box   7 Folder   1	Mimeo script (annotated) by Sid Kuller and Sid Miller, circa April 20, 1952
Box   7 Folder   2	April 27, 1952
Box   7 Folder   3	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller and Miller, circa May 11, 1952
Box   7 Folder   4	May 18, 1952
Box   7 Folder   5	May 25, 1952
Box   7 Folder   6	June 8, 1952
Box   7 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by Marvin Fisher, Norman Sullivan, Larry Gelbart, Larry Marks, Larry Klein, and Charles Lee, circa June 15, 1952
Box   7 Folder   8	September 21, 1952
Box   7 Folder   9	September 28, 1952
Box   7 Folder   10	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller and Miller, circa October 5, 1952
Box   7 Folder   11	October 12, 1952
Box   7 Folder   12	October 19, 1952
Box   7 Folder   13	November 2, 1952
Box   7 Folder   14	November 9, 1952
Box   7 Folder   15	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller and Miller, circa November 16, 1952
Box   7 Folder   16	November 23, 1952
Box   7 Folder   17	November 30, 1952
Box   8 Folder   1	December 7, 1952
Box   8 Folder   2	December 14, 1952
Box   8 Folder   3	December 28, 1952
Box   8 Folder   4	January 4, 1953
Box   8 Folder   5	January 11, 1953
Box   8 Folder   6	January 18, 1953
Box   8 Folder   7	January 25, 1953
Box   8 Folder   8	February 1, 1953
Box   8 Folder   9	February 8, 1953
Box   8 Folder   10	February 15, 1953
Box   8 Folder   11	February 23, 1953
Box   8 Folder   12	Mimeo script (annotated) by Jack Douglas, Les White, and John Rapp, circa March 1, 1953
Box   8 Folder   13	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller and Miller, circa March 8, 1953
Box   8 Folder   14	March 15, 1953
Box   8 Folder   15	Mimeo script (annotated) by John Grant, Kuller and Miller, and Danny Arnold, circa March 22, 1953
Box   8 Folder   16	Mimeo script (annotated) by John Rapp, White, Lee and Dan Shapiro, circa March 29, 1953
Box   8 Folder   17	April 12, 1953
Box   8 Folder   18	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller and Miller, circa April 5, 1953
Box   8 Folder   19	Mimeo script (annotated) by Douglas, Rapp, White, Lee, and Shapiro, circa April 19, 1953
Box   9 Folder   1	April 26, 1953
Box   9 Folder   2	May 3, 1953
Box   9 Folder   3	May 10, 1953
Box   9 Folder   4	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller, Miller, and Lee Wainer, circa May 17, 1953
Box   9 Folder   5	May 24, 1953
Box   9 Folder   6	June 7, 1953
Box   9 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by Douglas, Rapp, White, Lee, and Shapiro, circa June 14, 1953
Box   9 Folder   8	October 4, 1953
Box   9 Folder   9	October 11, 1953
Box   9 Folder   10	October 18, 1953
Box   9 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller, Miller, and Snag Werris, circa October 25, 1953
Box   9 Folder   12	November 1, 1953
Box   9 Folder   13	November 8, 1953
Box   9 Folder   14	November 29, 1953
Box   9 Folder   15	December 6, 1953
Box   9 Folder   16	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller, Miller, and Werris, circa December 20, 1953
Box   9 Folder   17	December 27, 1953
Box   9 Folder   18	January 3, 1954
Box   9 Folder   19	January 10, 1954
Box   9 Folder   20	January 17, 1954
Box   9 Folder   21	Mimeo script (annotated) by Charles Isaacs and Jackie Elinson, circa January 24, 1954
Box   9 Folder   22	January 31, 1954
Box   9 Folder   23	Mimeo script (annotated) by Isaacs and Elinson, circa February 7, 1954
Box   10 Folder   1	Mimeo script (annotated) by Kuller, Miller, and Werris, circa February 14, 1954
Box   10 Folder   2	February 21, 1954
Box   10 Folder   3	“Anything Goes” mimeo script (annotated) adapted by Herbert Baker, circa February 28, 1954
Box   10 Folder   4	March 7, 1954
Box   10 Folder   5	March 14, 1954
Box   10 Folder   6	March 21, 1954
Box   10 Folder   7	April 4, 1954
Box   10 Folder   8	Mimeo script (annotated) by Isaacs and Elinson, circa April 11, 1954
Box   10 Folder   9	April 18, 1954
Box   10 Folder   10	April 25, 1954
Box   10 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated) by Arthur Phillips and Harry Crane, circa May 2, 1954
Box   10 Folder   12	Mimeo script (annotated) by Isaacs and Elinson, circa May 9, 1954
Box   10 Folder   13	May 16, 1954
Box   10 Folder   14	May 23, 1954
Box   10 Folder   15	Mimeo script (annotated) by Phillips and Crane, circa May 30, 1954
Box   10 Folder   16	October 3, 1954
Box   10 Folder   17	“Revenge with Music” mimeo script (annotated), circa October 24, 1954
Box   10 Folder   18	“Let's Face It,” Mimeo script (annotated) adapted by Hartman, circa November 21, 1954
Box   10 Folder   19	Mimeo script (annotated) by Phillips and Crane, circa December 19, 1954
Box   11 Folder   1	February 6, 1954
Box   11 Folder   2	February 13, 1954
Box   11 Folder   3	April 3, 1954
Box   11 Folder   4	“Roberta” mimeo script (annotated) adapted by Charles Friedman, Ronald Alexander, and David Rogers, circa April 10, 1955
Box   11 Folder   5	Mimeo script (annotated) by Phillips and Crane, circa May 8, 1955
Box   11 Folder   6	Mimeo script (annotated) by Phillips and Crane, circa June 5, 1955
	Dean Martin Show
Box   11 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by Herbert Baker, circa March 19, 1959
Box   11 Folder   8	Mimeo script (annotated) by Baker, circa October 15, 1960
	Dinah Shore Show
	Rundowns
Box   11 Folder   9-14	1-60
Box   12 Folder   1-2	62-88
Box   12 Folder   3	1-5
	Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Box   12 Folder   4	Mimeo script (annotated) by Don McGuire, circa January 17, 1956
Box   12 Folder   5	Mimeo script (annotated) by Robert Wells and John Bradford, circa April 10, 1956
Box   12 Folder   6	Mimeo script (annotated) by Wells and Bradford, circa October 5, 1956
Box   12 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by Wells and Bradford, circa November 2, 1956
Box   12 Folder   8	Mimeo script (annotated) by Wells and Bradford, circa November 30, 1956
Box   12 Folder   9	Mimeo script (annotated) by Wells and Bradford, circa December 16, 1956
	Emmy Awards
Box   12 Folder   10	Mimeo script (annotated) by Charles Isaacs and Glenn Wheaten, circa March 7, 1955
Box   12 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated), circa February 16, 1957
Box   13 Folder   1	Mimeo script (annotated), circa March 16, 1957
Box   13 Folder   2	Mimeo script (annotated), circa May 6, 1959
	Enchanted Nutcracker
Box   13 Folder   3	Mimeo script (annotated) by Sam and Della Spewack, circa October 1, 1961
	The Ford Show Note: Written by Roland Kibbee, Norman Lear, and Bill Yagerman
Box   13 Folder   4	Mimeo script (annotated), circa February 27, 1958
Box   13 Folder   5	Mimeo script (annotated), circa March 6, 1958
Box   13 Folder   6	Mimeo script (annotated), circa March 13, 1958
Box   13 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated), circa March 20, 1958
Box   13 Folder   8	Holiday on Ice, March 1966
Box   13 Folder   9	It's What Happening, Baby, June 25, 1965
	Jerry Lewis Show
Box   13 Folder   10	Mimeo script (annotated) by Arthur Phillips and Harry Crane, circa June 8, 1957
Box   13 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated) by Lewis, Stanley Shapiro, Fred Fox, and Maurice Richlin, circa April 15, 1958
Box   13 Folder   12	Mimeo script (annotated) by Phillips and Lewis, circa May 16, 1958
Box   13 Folder   13	Mimeo script (annotated) by Mel Brooks, Danny Simon, Crane, and Lewis, circa October 18, 1958
Box   13 Folder   14	Mimeo script (annotated) by Brooks, Simon, Crane, and Lewis, circa December 10, 1958
Box   14 Folder   1	“Jazz Singer,” mimeo script (annotated) adapted by Ernest Glucksman and Ralph Nelson, circa October 13, 1959
Box   14 Folder   2	Mimeo script (annotated) by Joseph Siwel, circa January 16, 1960
Box   14 Folder   3	Mimeo script (annotated) by Siwel, circa April 15, 1960
Box   14 Folder   4	Mimeo script (annotated) by Mel Brooks, Siwel, and Glucksman, circa May 20, 1960
Box   14 Folder   5	Look Award show, December 9, 1961
	Nat King Cole Show
	Rundowns
Box   14 Folder   6	23-29
Box   14 Folder   7-9	1-20
	Scripts
Box   14 Folder   10	Mimeo script (annotated), circa December 10, 1957
Box   14 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated), circa December 17, 1957
	Oscar Night in Hollywood
Box   14 Folder   12	Mimeo script (annotated) circa April 4, 1960
Box   14 Folder   13	Rose Bowl Parade, January 1, 1957
	Saturday Night Revue
Box   14 Folder   14	Mimeo script (annotated) by Jack Elinson, Jerry Seelen, Snag Werris, Phil Shukin, and Milton Geiger, circa June 12, 1954
Box   15 Folder   1	June 26, 1954
Box   15 Folder   2	July 10, 1954
Box   15 Folder   3	July 24, 1954
Box   15 Folder   4	August 7, 1954
Box   15 Folder   5	August 21, 1954
Box   15 Folder   6	September 4, 1954
Box   15 Folder   7	Mimeo script (annotated) by Joe Calvelli, Sy Miller, Snag Werris, and Phil Shuken, circa September 18, 1954
	Steve Allen Show Note: Written by Stan Burns, Herb Sargent, Bill Dana, Don Hickley, Hal Goodman, and Larry Klein
Box   15 Folder   8	Mimeo script (annotated), circa February 16, 1958
Box   15 Folder   9	Mimeo script (annotated), circa February 9, 1958
Box   15 Folder   10	Mimeo script, February 15, 1959
	Summer on Ice
Box   15 Folder   11	Mimeo script (annotated) by Milt Rosen, circa May 22, 1959
	Ten Commandments, January 24, 1959
Box   15 Folder   12	Mimeo script (annotated) by Ben Hecht, January 1959
	Up to Paar
Box   15 Folder   13	Mimeo scripts (annotated), July 28-September 10, 1952
	Winter Carnival at Sun Valley
Box   16 Folder   1	Mimeo script (annotated) by George Foster, circa January 10, 1962
	Young at Heart
Box   16 Folder   2	Mimeo script (annotated) by Robert Wells and John Bradford, circa April 28, 1961
Box   16 Folder   3	Miscellaneous notes