Screen Gems [Hardcover]

Jeb H. Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0810824876 | ISBN-13: 978-0810824874

For the first time in a book on television, Screen Gems features a lengthy and detailed corporate history of the studio, which began as an obscure producer of TV commercials. It rapidly evolved into a leader in program packaging, music publishing, audience studies, and TV broadcasting. Also included is a program chronology listing the premiere and cancellation dates of every production. Among the programs chronicled are Route 66, The Naked City, Playhouse 90, Alcoa/Goodyear Theatre, The Monkees, Bewitched, Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, QB VII, The Last Angry Man, Born Free, Police Story, Brian's Song, and Sadat.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Another valuable reference work from Scarecrow....a model of how TV reference books should be. (Film Monthly (Uk) )

...important....I can only express my unbounded admiration for Mr. Perry and his research....Highly recommended. (Classic Images )

...a good reference listing for the television buff. (Arba )

... valuable. (American Cinematographer )

...captivating....a superior reference work... highly recommended. (Coast Book Review )

...a welcome addition...we hope it won't be a decade before Perry tackles another studio. (Communication Booknotes )

About the Author

Jeb H. Perry is the author of Universal Television: The Studio and Its Programs (Scarecrow, 1983), which past Universal V.P. Roy Huggins cited as "exhaustive, interesting, and important," and Variety Obits: An Index to Obituaries in Variety (Scarecrow, 1980).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 385 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press (December 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810824876
• ISBN-13: 978-0810824874
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,667,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Screen Gems-the best and original television studio!, July 14, 2001

By 

Stan "SW Fan extreme" (East Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Screen Gems (Hardcover)

This book provides the most accurate and interesting history of the original television studio that brought the industry to life and for nearly four and a half decades brought us our favorite classic sitcoms. They defined the television industry as being the first Hollywood studio-owned company to produce television programs. It may be outdated, but it is an excellent look at this ancient television studio!

5.0 out of 5 stars Screen Gems/CPT book, January 5, 2012

By 

Ben Masters (Fountain Inn, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Screen Gems (Hardcover)

I purchased this book recently for my birthday, and it is fully entitled "Screen Gems: A History of Columbia Pictures Television from Cohn to Coke, 1948-1983," by Jeb H. Perry. The book was written in 1991, and is Mr. Perry's second tome on a major film/TV studio; his first was on Universal, and was published in 1983.

I ran through it for the first time earlier, and in that first runthrough, I must say that I am very impressed w/the detail that Mr. Perry gave to the subject, from corporate history (which includes some of the logos that Screen Gems/CPT had in that timeframe) to the various series that SG/CPT made over the period covered in the book (and there were a lot of them), either on their own or with other people ("other people" meaning vanity cards and other collaborators, generally). There are also sections on TV movies (some that were pilots for the series that followed them), known in this book as "telefeatures"; other pilots that were apparently unsold; and specials. The book ends with a chronology in list form of the series that SG/CPT made, a list of Emmy nominees and winners on those series, and an index of major stars and co-stars and production personnel (producers, EPs, film editors, etc.).

In total, with all sections taken together, the book runs for an impressive (in my view) 371 pages (last I counted), and is very stylishly bound in hardcover.

One minor nitpick with regard to the corporate history section: Mr. Perry states that CPT began in 1974 (which is correct) with a logo "representing the glow from The Lady's torch." The nitpick is that the Sunburst/Abstract Torch (a name for it that I share with other TV logo fans) did not begin until 1976, and therefore Mr. Perry left out the real first logo of CPT, the "Pretzel." This is a very minor nitpick, and one that did not impede my enjoyment of the book (and should not impede yours should you purchase it, as I'm very heartily recommending and hoping that you will do).