Bob Banner, Emmy-Winning Producer and Director, Passes at 89

Bob Banner, a Primetime Emmy-winning producer and director whose numerous credits included Candid Camera, The Carol Burnett Show, Solid Gold and Showtime at the Apollo, died June 15, 2011, at the Motion Picture & Television Fund home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 89.

According to news reports, the cause was Parkinson’s disease.

In addition to producing and directing a long list of memorable talk shows, game shows, television movies and more, Banner was a mentor to many people who went on to become successful in their own right.

Among them were Television Academy chairman and CEO John Shaffner, who worked with Banner early in his career as a production designer.

“Bob was a true television legend,” said Shaffner. “Over a long and elegant career he produced much memorable programming. He mentored so many of us, educating and encouraging young people to enter the television profession, including myself so many years ago. The television community has lost one its founders, and it is a deep personal loss for many of us. We will remember him with fondness and gratitude.”

A native of Ennis, Texas, Banner was a graduate student at Northwestern University when he began his career in Chicago as a production assistant on the groundbreaking children’s show Kukla, Fran and Ollie in 1948. Not long afterward he began directing episodes of the talk show Garroway at Large, which aired from 1949-51.

He then moved to New York, where he continued to advance as a director. Notable projects included The Fred Waring Show and the lauded anthology series Omnibus. He also reunited with Dave Garroway as a director of The Dave Garroway Show.

In 1958, Banner won a Primetime Emmy for his direction of The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, which he also produced.

That same year, he became producer of The Garry Moore Show. Among his additions to the popular variety show was to hire Carol Burnett, who had appeared on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, as a regular performer.

He continued his collaboration with Burnett in the 1970 as executive producer of The Carol Burnett Show. He also produced some of her television specials, including An Evening With Carol Burnett and an adaptation of the Broadway musical Once Upon a Mattress, in which Burnett had starred.

Other noteworthy specials in the ensuing years included the NAACP benefit Freedom Spectacular; A Salute to American Imagination, commemorating Ford Motor Co.’s 75th anniversary; Happy Birthday, George Gershwin!; the AIDS benefit concert That’s What Friends Are For; and specials for Perry Como and Andy Williams.

In the 1980s he continued to thrive as executive producer of such popular performance series as Solid Gold and Star Search.

His made-for-television films included Warning Shot, My Sweet Charlie and My Husband Is Missing.

His last project was the series Real Kids, Real Adventures, which premiered in 1997.

Banner graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1943, after which he served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Following the war he enrolled at Northwestern, where he received a master’s degree in theater arts. he had originally intended to earn a Ph.D., but television opportunities drew him to New York.

He is survived by his wife, three sons and two grandchildren.

On August 16, 2002, Bob Banner had the distinction of being interviewed by the Television Academy Foundation’s Archive of American Television. During the interview, which ran over four hours and was conducted in Santa Monica, California, by Henry Colman, Banner spoke at length about his first experiences in the new medium of television at WBKB, and later WMAQ in Chicago.

He went on to speak about the “Chicago School” of television, and provided several humorous stories about on-set incidents. He reminisced about such personalities as Burr Tillstrom and Fran Allison from Kukla, Fran and Ollie, and how they were instrumental in persuading him to accept a position with The Fred Waring Show in New York.

Banner fondly recalled working with Dinah Shore when he was directing and producing her show, sponsored by Chevrolet, and recalled how her trademark kiss at the end of the show came about. He also described an incident in a restaurant between Dinah Shore, legendary actress Bette Davis and a fan that clearly pointed out the differences in film and television celebrity.

He later discussed many of the people that he worked with throughout his career, including Dave Garroway, Carol Burnett, Perry Como, ice skater Peggy Fleming, Ed Wynn and Jim Henson.

In addition, he talked about many of the variety shows that he has produced, such as Solid Gold, Star Search and It’s Showtime at the Apollo.

Finally, Banner mentioned his more recent work, including the children’s show Real Kids, Real Adventures, which aired on the Discovery Channel.

The entire interview may be viewed here.