Frederick de Cordova

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Frederick de Cordova

Frederick de Cordova
Born October 27, 1910
New York City, New York
Died September 15, 2001
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles

Frederick "Fred" Timmins de Cordova (October 27, 1910 - September 15, 2001) was an American motion picture and television director and producer. He was best known for his work on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

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[edit] Early life

De Cordova was born in New York City, New York, the son of Margaret (née Timmins) and George de Cordova, who worked in the theatre business.[1] 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.[2][3]

[edit] 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.[4] He was variously a performer, stage manager, stage director, and finally dialogue director, the last in "Ziegfield Follies of 1943".[5]

[edit] 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.[6] His last film was Frankie and Johnny (1966) with Elvis Presley.[7]

[edit] 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.[3] 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.[7][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.[4] 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]

During tapings of the Tonight Show, de Cordova would sit in a chair just beyond the guests' couch so that he could cue Carson directly and speak with him during commercial breaks. By the 1980's Carson would occasionally speak to de Cordova during the show, although usually the moment would pass so quickly that there would be no time to give de Cordova a microphone or catch him on camera.

These awkward exchanges became an object of parody. An episode of SCTV aired in 1981 featured a sketch of "The Freddie de Cordova Show".[12] The segment was almost an exact copy of the Tonight Show, except the host's desk was empty; de Cordova conducted all of his interviews from his usual perch off-camera. On the real program in 1988, as a takeoff on the installation of lights in Wrigley Field, Carson ceremonially installed a light on the edge of the set to that de Cordova could finally be seen.

[edit] 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.[13] [11]

[edit] Further reading

  • 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 0-671-55849-8 (hardcover); paperback reprint edition, Pocket Books, 1989, ISBN 0-671-67082-4.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Frederick De Cordova Biography (1910-2001)
  2. ^ Winter 2001 Class notes
  3. ^ a b Bergan, Ronald. "Frederick De Cordova: Film director famed for embarrassing Ronald Reagan with a chimp", The Guardian, 2001-09-15. 
  4. ^ a b Martin, Douglas. "Fred De Cordova, TV Producer, Dies at 90", The New York Times, September 18, 2001, pp. C1. 
  5. ^ Frederick De Cordova. Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.
  6. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Frederick de Cordova", Biography, The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-07-28. 
  7. ^ a b Biography for Frederick De Cordova. IMDb. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.
  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 2006-07-28.
  10. ^ Tynan, Kenneth (Feb 20, 1978, posted Jan 24, 2005). Fifteen Years of the Salto Mortale. The New Yorker. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.
  11. ^ a b FREDERICK DE CORDOVA Died Sept. 15, 2001. Entertainment Insiders. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.
  12. ^ SCTV Guide - Episodes - Series 3
  13. ^ Longtime Carson foil Fred De Cordova dies. Associated Press (September 17, 2001). Retrieved on 2006-07-28.

[edit] External links

  • Tonight Show bio
  • [1] Oral History by Fred De Cordova; Archive of American Television Interview with Fred de Cordova Part 1-6