Bruce Geller Collection
Finding aid created by Writers Guild Foundation Archive staff using RecordEXPRESS
Writers Guild Foundation Archive
2022
7000 West Third Street
Los Angeles, California 90048
(323) 782-4680
hswett@wgfoundation.org
https://www.wgfoundation.org/archive/
Title: Bruce Geller Collection
Dates: 1956-1973
Collection Number: WGF-MS-071
Creator/Collector:
Geller, Bruce
Extent: 2 linear feet
Repository:
Writers Guild Foundation Archive
Los Angeles, California 90048
Abstract: The Bruce Geller Collection consists of scripts and pilots written and produced by Geller during his television and film career,
as well as a small amount of development material and correspondence.
Language of Material: English
Majority of materials stored off site. One week advance notice required for retrieval.
The responsibility to secure copyright and publication permission rests with the patron.
[Identification of item]. Bruce Geller Collection. Collection Number: WGF-MS-071. Writers Guild Foundation Archive
Donated by Jeannette Geller in 2005
Biography/Administrative History
Bruce Geller (1930-1978) was a television writer and producer. Originally from New York City, he was a Yale graduate who got
his start writing for TV and musical theater. He later moved to Los Angeles and wrote for a variety of TV series. He is best
remembered for creating the TV show Mission: Impossible which ran on CBS from 1966-1973. Geller was killed in a plane crash
in 1978.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Bruce Geller Collection consists of scripts and pilots written and produced by Geller during his television and film career.
Titles represented in the collection include Bronk, Dr. Kildare, the Rough Riders, The Rifleman, Mannix, Mission: Impossible,
Have Gun Will Travel, the Dick Powell Show, the Westerner and Zane Grey Theatre. In addition to scripts, the collection contains
development material and correspondence related to Geller's shows. His pilot The Judge aired as an episode of the Dick Powell
Show and was to be the first of a new series. The collection contains scripts and correspondence related to development of
that series. The Robert Taylor Show was to be produced in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
in 1963. The show was not given permission and did not move forward. The collection includes correspondence, outlines, and
proposed scripts for that show. The collection also contains a script and production information for Corky, which Geller produced.
The collection contains a script and production information for the pilot of Mission Impossible and contracts and correspondence
regarding Geller's intellectual property rights related to the show. Lastly, the collection includes treatments and story
ideas for unproduced projects as well as tickets and programs from Emmy Awards shows he attended.
Television Scripts
Mission impossible (Television program)
Television writers
Television producers and directors