Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Robert Dwan papers
- Dates:
- 1948-1955
- Creators:
- Dwan, Robert
- 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.
- Extent:
- 4.75 linear ft. (10 boxes)
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Robert Dwan papers (Collection 1920). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
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.
- Biographical / historical:
-
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.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Alan and Laura Dwan, 2012.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is mostly arranged chronologically.
- 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.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © 2012 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-05-14T12:00-0700 . Supplementary encoding and revision by Caroline Cubé using Notetab Pro.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
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.
- Terms of access:
-
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.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Robert Dwan papers (Collection 1920). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988