“Paul Green’s biography <i>Roy Huggins</i> is the best behind-the-scenes television book I have ever read, bar none...excellent…a hard hitting, truthful and inside look at how so many of our favorite TV series came to television. WC’s highest recommendation!”—<i>Western Clippings</i>; “This is a serious, well-researched, information-packed reference work that is nonetheless an easy and engaging read. This book isn’t just for fans of Roy Huggins or his shows…it’s a must-read for students of TV history and anyone interested in a career as a TV series show runner. It’s hands-down one of the best books ever written about a TV producer...or being one.”—Lee Goldberg, author and producer; “Paul Green has done an excellent job. Thorough, factual and most entertaining. The background about the Irish and Cromwell, the plantation history of Nevis, the Hugginses in the lumber business and their move to Washington, etc., is fascinating corroborative material.”—Frank Price, former writer-producer who became head of Universal TV, Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures; “Very insightful biography...succeeds in capturing the essence of who Roy Huggins was as a person. Green captured his intellectual curiosity, his passion for life and the various contradictions that made him very much human.”—Ed Robertson, host and producer, TV Confidential: A radio talk show about television.
Producer-writer Roy Huggins is best known for creating the TV series, Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Fugitive, Run For Your Life and The Rockford Files (with Stephen J. Cannell). This biography details his personal and professional life, aided by exclusive interviews with family, producers, actors and writers who worked with him.
The author was granted exclusive access to Huggins' personal memoirs to provide an intimate, firsthand account, including his early career at Columbia, RKO, Warner Bros. and 20th Century-Fox. Huggins' political activism at UCLA and the subsequent House Un-American Activities hearing in 1952 is covered in depth. The book includes an extensive filmography and previously unpublished photographs provided by family members.
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Jo Swerling, Jr.
Preface
Introduction
1. Lineage
2. Formal Years
3. Hard-Boiled Huggins
4. The Lady with the Torch
5. Howard Hughes Radio Pictures
6. Paranoia and Discord
7. Transition
8. Shady Dealings
9. Trouble at Fox
10. Guilty Until Proven Innocent
11. Escape from Tomorrow
12. One Step Ahead
13. Fallow Ground
14. Revolving Doors
15. Best Sellers
16. Rejuvenation
17. Denouement
The Works of Roy Huggins
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index