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Finding Aid for the Robert Dwan papers, 1948-1955
1920
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Title: Robert Dwan papers
Collection number: 1920
Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material: English
Physical Description:
4.75 linear ft.
(10 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1948-1955
Abstract: Robert (Bob) Dwan served as director for the CBS radio and NBC television game show series
You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx, from 1947 to 1961. The bulk of the collection consists of radio and television scripts for the program
You Bet Your Life.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Creator: Dwan, Robert
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Alan and Laura Dwan, 2012.
[Identification of item], Robert Dwan papers (Collection 1920). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
6943703
Robert (Bob) Dwan was born in San Francisco, CA and grew up in Burlingame. He attended Stanford University, majoring in theatre
and graduating in 1935. In 1936 he started work as a radio announcer for KGO radio in San Francisco where he was eventually
promoted to program manager. In the early 1940s he moved to Los Angeles and worked as an apprentice writer for the
Red Skelton radio show and then moved on to join the writing staff of Art Linkletter's
People Are Funny. From 1947 to 1961 he served as the director for the CBS radio and NBC television game show series
You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx.
You Bet Your Life ran on the radio from 1947 to 1957 and on television from 1950 to 1961. Robert Dwan died January 21, 2005 in Los Angeles,
CA.
The format of the show
You Bet Your Life consisted of Groucho Marx interviewing two contestants, a male and a female, and then asking them trivia type questions for
which correct answers were awarded with a sum of money. There was also a secret word of the day where a cash prize was awarded
whenever the word was spoken.
The collection consists of material related to radio and television director Robert Dwan. The bulk of the collection is 238
scripts for the program
You Bet Your Life, featuring Groucho Marx. The scripts are bound into 18 volumes and represent the radio and television production of the program.
Fourteen volumes are in chronological order, some of the scripts are annotated, and there are no writer credits. Also included
in the collection is one script for the program
Popsicle Parade of Stars, holiday greeting cards from the Stanley and Shaw families, three photographs (2 are photocopies) of Robert Dwan, and a photocopy
of a newspaper clipping mentioning Dwan.
The collection is mostly arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Dwan, Robert--Archives.
radio scripts
Television producers and directors--Archival resources.
television scripts