Frederick "Fred" Timmins de Cordova (October 27, 1910 - September 15, 2001) was a motion picture and television director and producer. He was best known for his work on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was the full name of NBCs The Tonight Show during the years that Johnny Carson hosted from 1962 to 1992. ...

Early life

In his 1988 autobiography, de Cordova described his parents as con artists who, during his early years, lived well and skipped town without paying. He received an undergraduate degree in liberal arts in 1931 from Northwestern University.^[1][2] Northwestern University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian research university, located in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, U.S.. Northwesterns main campus is a 240-acre (970,000 m²) parcel in Evanston, along the shore of Lake Michigan. ...

Theater

His first theater credit was as a performer in "Elmer the Great" (1928). After his graduation from Harvard Law School in 1933, he gained employment in the Shubert Theater organization and directed stage shows for the next ten years.^[3] He was variously a performer, stage manager, stage director, and finally dialogue director, the last in "Ziegfield Follies of 1943".^[4] Harvard Law School (HLS) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. ... Shubert Theatre, Boston The Shubert Organization was founded by the Shubert brothers, Sam S. Shubert, Lee Shubert, and Jacob J. Shubert of Syracuse, New York in the late 19th century in upstate New York, entering into New York City productions in 1900. ...

Motion Pictures

He was a dialogue director in five films, including To Have and Have Not (1944). His first film directing job was “Too Young To Know" (1945) for Warner Brothers. He directed 23 movies. One of the better known was “Bedtime for Bonzo” (1951) starring a chimpanzee and future President Ronald Reagan. He also directed Rock Hudson, Errol Flynn, Tony Curtis, Audie Murphy, Yvonne de Carlo, Bob Hope and Humphrey Bogart. Much of his career was at Universal Studios, where he was known for turning out entertaining pictures quickly, even with difficult actors, and on a low budget.^[5] His last film was “Frankie and Johnny” (1966) with Elvis Presley.^[6] For a complete listing of his films, see his IMDb filmography at:^[7] To Have and Have Not (1944), is a film directed by Howard Hawks that is nominally based on the novel To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway. ... Warner Bros. ... Bedtime for Bonzo is a 1951 comedy film directed by Frederick De Cordova. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989), and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... Rock Hudson (November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was a popular American film and television actor, noted for his good looks, and most remembered as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s. ... Errol Flynn as Robin Hood, one of his most famous roles Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (June 20, 1909 – October 14, 1959) was an Australian film actor, most famous for his romantic swashbuckler roles. ... Roger Moore and Tony Curtis in The Persuaders! Tony Curtis (born June 3, 1925) is an American film actor. ... Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1924 - May 28, 1971) was an American soldier in World War II, and later a successful actor. ... Yvonne De Carlo Yvonne De Carlo (born September 1, 1922) is a Canadian-born American film and television actress. ... Bob Hope KBE, KCSG, (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was a famous British-born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel. ... Humphrey DeForest Bogart (December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957) was an American actor of legendary fame who retained his legacy after death. ... The current Universal Studios logo Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the major American film studios that has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los... Frankie and Johnny is a 1966 musical starring Elvis Presley as a riverboat gambler. ... Elvis Aron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), often known simply as Elvis and also called The King of Rock n Roll or simply The King, was an American singer and actor. ...

Television

He turned to directing television when there was less need for low budget movies to serve as the second half of a double feature.^[2] His skills were perfect for TV. In 1950 his TV career started with directing "The Jack Benny Program," on which he appeared several times as himself, and "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show." Among other programs he directed are "The George Gobel Program," "December Bride," "Leave It To Beaver," "My Three Sons," and "The Smothers Brothers Show." He directed and/or produced more than 500 tv series or segments. He directed "the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" starting in 1970. ^[8] using the name Fred de Cordova.^{[6] [9]} He became Producer of the show in 1970 and Executive Producer in 1984. He described his job as “..chief traffic cop, talent scout, No. 1 fan and critic all rolled into one" in a 1981 interview.^[3] de Cordova was described as “.. a large, looming, beaming man with horn-rimmed glasses, an Acapulcan tan, and an engulfing handshake that is a contract in itself, complete with small print and an option for renewal on both sides.”^[10] He was Executive Producer when the final Carson show signed off in 1992. He won five Emmys for his work on the show.^[11] The double feature was a motion picture industry phenomenon, where theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, instead of the original format consisting of one feature film and various short subjects. ... Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was a comedian, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the most prominent early stars of American radio and television. ... Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen. ... George Leslie Gobel (May 20, 1919 - February 24, 1991) was an American comedian, born in Chicago, Illinois, and known as Lonesome George. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... My Three Sons was a television series sitcom that ran from September 29, 1960 to August 24, 1972. ... The Smothers Brothers Show was a situation comedy featuring the Smothers Brothers that aired on CBS on Friday nights at 9:30 p. ... The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was the full name of NBCs The Tonight Show during the years that Johnny Carson hosted from 1962 to 1992. ... An Emmy Award. ...

Personal life

He married former actress Janet Thomas in 1963, and they remained married for the rest of his life. He died of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, California on September 15, 2001. ^{[12] [11]} The Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital is a motion picture and television industry complex complete with a retirement community, with individual cottages, and a fully licensed, acute-care hospital, located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California. ... Woodland Hills is a community within the City of Los Angeles. ...

References

• Bernstein, F., "Traffic cop, talent scout, critic. Fred De Cordova keeps Carson's Tonight Show on track" People Weekly, 22:131-2. October 8, 1984
• de Cordova, Fred, "Johnny Came Lately: An Autobiography". New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988. ISBN 0671558498 (hardcover); paperback reprint edition, Pocket Books, 1989, ISBN 0671670824.

Notes

1. ^ http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/northwestern/winter2001/classnotes/inmemoriam.htm
2. ^ ^a b Bergan, Ronald. "Frederick De Cordova: Film director famed for embarrassing Ronald Reagan with a chimp", The Guardian, 2001-09-15.
3. ^ ^a b Martin, Douglas. "Fred De Cordova, TV Producer, Dies at 90", The New York Times, September 18, 2001, pp. C1.
4. ^ Frederick De Cordova. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
5. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Frederick de Cordova", Biography, The New York Times. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
6. ^ ^a b Biography for Frederick De Cordova. IMDb. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
7. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0208111/
8. ^ The Johnny Carson Show website (says he started in 1970).
9. ^ Biography for Johnny Carson (I)(says de Cordova started in 1962). IMDb. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
10. ^ Tynan, Kenneth (Feb 20, 1978, posted Jan 24, 2005). Fifteen Years of the Salto Mortale. The New Yorker. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
11. ^ ^a b FREDERICK DE CORDOVA Died Sept. 15, 2001. Entertainment Insiders. Retrieved on July 28, 2006.
12. ^ Longtime Carson foil Fred De Cordova dies. Associated Press (September 17, 2001). Retrieved on July 28, 2006.

2001: A Space Odyssey. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ...

External links

• Tonight Show bio