Lewis was active in radio and television broadcasting for several decades, the bulk of this collection documents his career with CBS between 1947 and 1959. The collection contains scripts from his radio and television programs during this time period as well as material written for his shows; musical scores used in Lewis' programs are also included. The remainder of the collection consists of Lewis's correspondence during the period covered, as well as photocopies of scrapbooks containing articles about his various programs and appearances, and a sampling of catalogs from art galleries from which Lewis purchased pieces of art.

Robert Q. Lewis (1920 – 1991) was a comedian, radio disc jockey, and host of numerous television and radio programs from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Lewis, born and raised in New York, attended the University of Michigan. After returning to New York, he worked as a disc jockey for a local radio station until he was hired by NBC to host his own radio variety program, The Robert Q. Lewis Show. This first version of his show ran from April to December 1945, at which time NBC cancelled it. Lewis went back to working as a disc jockey until he was noticed by William Paley, the head of CBS. Paley hired Lewis, and one of Lewis's first jobs was to act as a guest host for the Arthur Godfrey Time when Godfrey was away on vacation. Lewis was soon given his own program, called The Little Show, which featured a mix of comedy and music. This program ran from June through December 1947, and was replaced in 1948 by The Robert Q. Lewis Show, a comedy and variety program with a different format, which ran in various time slots until August 1949, when Lewis took over both The Arthur Godfrey Time, Godfrey's radio program that was broadcast five days a week, and Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, the weekly television program. While Lewis filled in for Godfrey from August to October 1949, he gained greater visibility and favorable attention from the critics. Lewis returned to his own program in 1950, and throughout the 1950's he broadcast both the television and the radio versions of The Robert Q. Lewis Show. In addition to his own programs, Lewis often appeared as a guest host on other radio and television programs, and in the latter part of the 1950s and 1960s, he increasingly worked as a television game show host. With the decline of network radio and the end of Lewis' CBS programs, he returned to being a disc jockey, working for radio stations KHJ, KFI, and KRLA in Los Angeles at various times in the 1960s and 1970s.

21 Linear Feet; (25 boxes: 11 record boxes, 14 document boxes)

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

The collection is open for research.