Writer, director, and producer Robert Herridge left an enduring mark on the small screen, from his stewardship of Camera Three in the early 1950s through the exciting days of live television. The minimalist Herridge style that placed performers in front of a camera on a nearly empty soundstage, as well as his unique brand of robust morbidity, produced some of the most powerful performances to grace early TV.
Herridge pioneered dozens of innovative productions for the CBS and NBC networks in the 1950s and ’60s, ranging from provocative adaptations of works by Shirley Jackson and Tennessee Williams to premier dance collaborations with George Balanchine and Agnes de Mille. He also created important jazz programs featuring the likes of Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis. But for more than sixty years, his groundbreaking work has been almost completely overlooked by critics and historians.
In the first book devoted to Herridge’s life and career, editor John Sorensen weaves together Herridge’s unpublished memoir with meticulous research into shows that have become cultural milestones. The Herridge Style: The Life and Work of a Television Revolutionary introduces Robert Herridge’s experiments on-screen—and his extraordinary personal story—to a new audience that has much to discover and enjoy in the oeuvre of an artist hailed as ‘Television’s Forgotten Auteur.’
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About this Book
Preface
Introduction
Through Darkest Television
Prologue: A Work of Memory and Imagination
Loomings
This Man’s Background
The Germ of an Idea
First Shows
Camera Three: An Idea of a Theatre
The American Hero: Gerald Sarracini
Studio One
The World of Nick Adams
The Sound of Jazz
Dance and Television
The Kraft Theater
The Robert Herrdige Theater
S. Lee Pogostin
Mingus & Me
Coming to Terms
Epilogue: The Great Adventure
Postscript
Acknowledgements
Appendix I: About Herridge
Appdenix II: Robert Herridge: Television Productions (1950-1981)
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John Sorensen is creator and director of the Jumble Shop Theater of Greenwich Village and founder of the Herridge Project. He wrote, directed, and produced The Quilted Conscience and The Jazz Television of Robert Herridge, along with film projects for the US Department of State and the Chicago Humanities Festival.