From 1955 to 1964, American television was awash in adult Westerns, as much as one quarter of all prime-time programming. During its six seasons (1957-1963), Have Gun-Will Travel was recognized as one of the best shows on television--politically the most liberal, and intellectually and aesthetically the most sophisticated, largely because of Richard Boone. This work places the series in its larger historical context, exploring why the Western was so popular at the time, and examines how the early history of television affected the shows. A brief biography of Boone is included, revealing how his values and experiences shaped the series. Behind-the-scenes life on the show is compared with that of its most popular competitors, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train and Bonanza. Major themes and patterns of the shows are compared, in particular the figures of the lawman, the gunfighter and the outlaw, racial and ethnic minorities, and women.

This three-volume set is a valuable resource for researching the history of American television. An encyclopedic range of information documents how television forever changed the face of media and continues to be a powerful influence on society. What are the reasons behind enduring popularity of television genres such as police crime dramas, soap operas, sitcoms, and "reality TV"? What impact has television had on the culture and morality of American life? Does television largely emulate and reflect real life and society, or vice versa? How does television's influence differ from that of other media such as newspapers and magazines, radio, movies, and the Internet? These are just a few of the questions explored in the three-volume encyclopedia TV in the USA: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. This expansive set covers television from 1950 to the present day, addressing shows of all genres, well-known programs and short-lived series alike, broadcast on the traditional and cable networks. All three volumes lead off with a keynote essay regarding the technical and historical features of the decade(s) covered. Each entry on a specific show investigates the narrative, themes, and history of the program; provides comprehensive information about when the show started and ended, and why; and identifies the star players, directors, producers, and other key members of the crew of each television production. The set also features essays that explore how a particular program or type of show has influenced or reflected American society, and it includes numerous sidebars packed with interesting data, related information, and additional insights into the subject matter.

An AudioFile Best Audiobook of 2020 The first in-depth biography of the legendary singer and “Voice of the Civil Rights Movement,” who combatted racism and prejudice through her music. Odetta channeled her anger and despair into some of the most powerful folk music the world has ever heard. Through her lyrics and iconic persona, Odetta made lasting political, social, and cultural change. A leader of the 1960s folk revival, Odetta is one of the most important singers of the last hundred years. Her music has influenced a huge number of artists over many decades, including Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Kinks, Jewel, and, more recently, Rhiannon Giddens and Miley Cyrus. But Odetta’s importance extends far beyond music. Journalist Ian Zack follows Odetta from her beginnings in deeply segregated Birmingham, Alabama, to stardom in San Francisco and New York. Odetta used her fame to bring attention to the civil rights movement, working alongside Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, and other artists. Her opera-trained voice echoed at the 1963 March on Washington and the Selma to Montgomery march, and she arranged a tour throughout the deeply segregated South. Her “Freedom Trilogy” songs became rallying cries for protesters everywhere. Through interviews with Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, and many others, Zack brings Odetta back into the spotlight, reminding the world of the folk music that powered the civil rights movement and continues to influence generations of musicians today. Listen to the author’s top five Odetta hits while you read: 1. Spiritual Trilogy (Oh Freedom/Come and Go with Me/I’m On My Way) 2. I’ve Been Driving on Bald Mountain/Water Boy 3. Take This Hammer 4. The Gallows Pole 5. Muleskinner Blues Access the playlist here: https://spoti.fi/3c2HnF4

Preeminent rap journalist Ronin Ro exposes Death Row Records: an empire built on greed, corruption, murder, and exploitation. 16 photos.

"The acting career of legendary star Ida Lupino is well known, but there has been little analysis of her directorial career. She was one of the few female directors in Classical Hollywood and the only one with membership in the Directors Guild of America between 1948 and 1971. Like Orson Welles, her career was notable in transitioning from acting to directing first in film and then in television, in addition to helping to create and run the production company The Filmakers [sic]. Her films were notably about women navigating difficult positions in society, dealing with controversial issues such as rape and bigamy. Nevertheless, she was the first female director of a noir film, The Hitch-Hiker, which is a suspenseful tale of two motorists taken hostage by a serial killer in the Southwest. Alexandra Seros, a filmmaker herself, examines Lupino's career with a focus on her directorial roles and how she navigated this as a woman, as well as a wife and mother, in male-dominated Hollywood. She explains how Lupino began directing and formed The Filmakers before providing a close analysis of three of her films (Not Wanted, Never Fear, and the aforementioned The Hitch-Hiker) and examining how she navigated the shooting and negotiated with the censors to be able to tell the stories she wanted to tell. Seros then details Lupino's transition to television and her taking the director's reins in that medium as well. Lupino directed episodes in a wide variety of genres, but specialized in Westerns and thrillers. Even as the press and the studios tried to focus on her femininity as a dutiful wife and loving mother, she often refused to play along and be coded as feminine in this way. Seros analyzes three of Lupino's directed episodes, comparing them with similar work done by noted male directors Nicholas Ray, Robert Aldrich, and Alfred Hitchcock, stressing Lupino's efficient, effective work in finishing the shows on time and within budget. She finishes by arguing that Lupino was a new kind or auteur, whose collaborative "family" approach to filmmaking was far ahead of its time"--

Fans of the show as well as scholars of TV history and the Western genre will enjoy this insightful volume.

Dominated by men and bound by the restrictive Hays Code, postwar Hollywood offered little support for a female director who sought to make unique films on controversial subjects. But Ida Lupino bucked the system, writing and directing a string of movies that exposed the dark underside of American society, on topics such as rape, polio, unwed motherhood, bigamy, exploitative sports, and serial murder. The first in-depth study devoted to Lupino’s directorial work, this book makes a strong case for her as a trailblazing feminist auteur, a filmmaker with a clear signature style and an abiding interest in depicting the plights of postwar American women. Ida Lupino, Director not only examines her work as a cinematic auteur, but also offers a serious consideration of her diverse and long-ranging career, getting her start in Hollywood as an actress in her teens and twenties, directing her first films in her early thirties, and later working as an acclaimed director of television westerns, sitcoms, and suspense dramas. It also demonstrates how Lupino fused generic elements of film noir and the social problem film to create a distinctive directorial style that was both highly expressionistic and grittily realistic. Ida Lupino, Director thus shines a long-awaited spotlight on one of our greatest filmmakers.