KENT Mc CRAY
Ask people who Kent Mc Cray is and the question will draw a blank stare. Ask people if they remember Bonanza, The High Chaparral, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven, and a smile will invariably come to their faces as they recognize the titles and share how these beloved shows influenced their lives. In fact, all four series are still being broadcast 30 to 55 years after their original debuts. They are more than historic; they are iconic because they continue to reach out to new generations of viewers on a global scale.
It all started in 1951. The world was no longer at war; peace-time technology focused on the new medium of television; and AT&T connected the East and West Coasts via coaxial cable creating an explosion in television programming and broadcasting. This was the stage Kent Mc Cray entered in that same year. A live stage. One that put the young NBC production specialist among the likes of Red Skelton, Milton Berle, Ralph Edwards, Groucho Marx, and Bob Hope. He became part of the history of television as it evolved from live TV to videotape to film, from black & white to color.
Kent Mc Cray shares stories that span 50 years of television including production obstacles and solutions, his extraordinary collaboration with Michael Landon, and his legacy of philanthropy, all against the backdrop of current events that helped shape the television industry.
Join Kent Mc Cray as he revisits his incredible life and works that live on to this day.
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Chapter 1: The Roots of the Tree Run Deep
Chapter 2: The Doctor from Yale
Chapter 3: “Never Say No to a Job, ” or “If You See Me, You Don’t Know Me”
Chapter 4: “Everything Was Live!”
Chapter 5: My Life with Ralph Edwards
Chapter 6: The Production Supervisor Takes a Wife
Chapter 7: Big Brother
Chapter 8: Uncle Miltie’s Whistle
Chapter 9: Hope Springs Eternal in Alaska
Chapter 10: Bob Hope & the One-Star General Explore the Orient
Chapter 11: The Road to Europe
Chapter 12: Forging Friends with Outlaws
Chapter 13: Someone’s in Denmark with Dinah…
Chapter 14: Riding with Outlaws Again
Chapter 15: A Bonanza of Color
Chapter 16: A Production Manager Keeps It All Going
Chapter 17: Tales from the Ponderosa
Chapter 18: The High Chaparral
Chapter 19: Mr. Burris’ Homestead
Chapter 20: Chaparral Was My Baby
Chapter 21: Tales from the Sonoran Desert
Chapter 22: Consolidating Resources
Chapter 23: Introducing Susan Sukman
Chapter 24: Ending an Era: Cancellation of Chaparral & Bonanza
Chapter 25: Little House on the Prairie
Chapter 26: Walnut Grove Comes to Life
Chapter 27: Casting the Casting Director
Chapter 28: Prairie Companions
Chapter 29: Changes, New Productions & MGM
Chapter 30: Killing Stone & Father Murphy
Chapter 31: Little House With a New Perspective
Chapter 32: Tales from the Prairie
Chapter 33: Introducing Susan Sukman Mc Cray
Chapter 34: Highway to Heaven
Chapter 35: Tales from the Highway
Chapter 36: Where Pigeons Go to Die
Chapter 37: Us
Chapter 38: Us Minus One
Chapter 39: With Laughter & Love
Chapter 40: Bonanza Movies This Ain’t No Music Video
Chapter 41: It’s Not Where You Start; It’s Where You Finish
Chapter 42: My Work
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Kent Mc Cray is one of the most-recognized production managers/producers in the television industry. He has run production crews and produced shows for Bob Hope, Michael Landon, Ralph Edwards, Red Skelton, Groucho Marx and more. He and his wife Susan reside in the North Ranch area of Westlake Village, Calif.