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[[File:Desilu.jpg|thumb|Desilu logo as it appeared in the ending credits of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'']]
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[[File:Desilu.jpg|180px|right|Desilu logo]]
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'''Desilu Productions''', also credited as '''Desilu Studios''', was the [[production companies|production company]] that started the ''[[Star Trek]]''-franchise with the production of the, initially, un-aired 1965 pilot television episode {{e|The Cage}}, and the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' television series which began airing in September 1966.
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__TOC__
  
⚫
'''Desilu''' was a [[production companies|production company]] formed in {{y|1950}} by [[Lucille Ball]] and her then-husband, [[#Desi Arnaz|Desi Arnaz]]. The name, a portmanteau of the couple's first names, was originally applied to the Ball-Arnaz ranch. The success of the television show ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' enabled Desilu to grow and expand throughout the 1950s. When RKO Pictures went bankrupt in 1957, Desilu bought it's studios and location facilities. They produced a number of shows, including ''The Andy Griffith Show'', and also lent their facilities for various other projects, such as ''My Favorite Martian'' and ''The Untouchables''.
  
   
  +
==History==
−
By {{y|1964}}, ''The Lucy Show'' has remained Desilu's sole self-made production. [[Herb Solow]] was hired to search for writers with new and interesting concepts and develop them into series ideas for the studio. He contracted two ambitious writer/producers, [[Gene Roddenberry]] with ''Star Trek'' and Bruce Geller with ''Mission: Impossible''. Both series went into production for the 1966-67 television season. (''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'' p 5-14)
  
  ⚫
Desilu Productions was formed in {{y|1950}} by [[Lucille Ball]] and her then-husband, [[#Desi Arnaz|Desi Arnaz]]. The name, a portmanteau of the couple's first names, was originally applied to the Ball-Arnaz ranch. The success of the television show ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' enabled Desilu to grow and expand throughout the 1950s. When RKO Pictures went bankrupt in 1957, Desilu bought its studios and location facilities. They produced a number of shows, including ''The Andy Griffith Show'', and also lent their facilities for various other projects, such as ''My Favorite Martian'', ''I, Spy'', ''My Three Sons'' and ''The Untouchables''. In 1962, Desilu signed an six-year agreement with Paramount to a show based on Paramount Pictures properties.
   
  +
By {{m|April|1964}}, Desilu found itself in dire straits as ''The Lucy Show'' was the studio's only remaining self-made production, even though other shows were still produced on the studio lot as consignments from other production companies, such as the Bing Crosby Productions' television series ''Ben Casey''. [[Oscar Katz]] and his assistant [[Herb Solow]] (soon promoted to studio production head in Katz' stead) were hired to search for writers with new and interesting concepts and develop them into series ideas, in order to safeguard the future existence of the ailing studio. This the Katz/Solow duo did with much gusto, as evidenced by Katz proudly boasting at his first Desilu shareholders meeting in May 1964, where he informed the assembly that no less than twenty-two television propositions were under advisement. (''Los Angeles Times'', 14 May 1964) Amongst the ones contracted were two ambitious writer/producers: [[Gene Roddenberry]] with ''Star Trek'' and {{w|Bruce Geller}} with ''[[Mission: Impossible]]''. Both series went into production for the 1966-67 television season. (''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', 1997, pp. 5-14)
⚫
Desilu had a first-refusal agreement with [[CBS Television Studios|CBS]], which is why ''Star Trek'' was first pitched to that network. However, CBS refused to buy it, opting to Irwin Allen's more family-oriented series, ''Lost in Space'' instead. When CBS passed on the show, [[NBC]] was then approached.
 
   
  ⚫
Desilu had a first-refusal agreement with [[CBS Television Studios|CBS]], which is why ''Star Trek'' was first pitched to that network. However, CBS refused to buy it, opting for {{w|Irwin Allen}}'s more family-oriented series, ''Lost in Space'' instead. When CBS passed on the show, only then was [[NBC]] approached. (''Inside Star Trek: The Real Story'')
⚫
Like most television studios during the 1950s and 1960s, Desilu had a stable of annually-contracted actors and behind-the-scenes personnel. Such talent moved from production to production as needed, and were paid a salary instead of a per-appearance fee. A notable ''Star Trek''-related example was [[Majel Barrett]], who began such a contracted relationship with Desilu in {{y|1958}}. <ref>[http://www.efc.com/features/prod_mroddenberry.html Majel Barrett's biography at the ''Earth: Final Conflict'' official site.]</ref><ref>[http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/112056.html Fisher, Deborah. "Spotlight: Majel Barrett Roddenberry". Startrek.com. 20 July 2000.]</ref>
 
   
  +
Yet, Katz and Solow were arguably too successful in their assignment, as the studio found itself unexpectedly confronted with the production of three expensive television properties, which aside from ''Star Trek'' and ''Mission Impossible'' (ordered by network CBS), also included the western series ''The Long Hunt for April Savage'' (ordered by network ABC), all of them brought in by Katz and Solow, where there had only been one before, the ''I Love Lucy'' show. The conservative board of directors feared, not entirely unjustified, that the small studio would financially overstretch itself. Vigorously defended by Solow, and despite the fact that ''Star Trek'' series was already ordered by NBC, after the second pilot episode, {{e|Where No Man Has Gone Before}}, had been produced, virtually the entire Desilu Board of Directors voted to cancel ''Star Trek'' in February 1966 nevertheless, board member Bernard Weitzman being the sole exception. Yet, as Chairwoman of the Board, Lucille Ball had the power to override her board, and this she did with a mere nod of her head towards Solow. "''That was all Star Trek needed,''" as author [[Marc Cushman]] had succinctly put it, "''A nod of Lucille Ball.''" (''[[These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One]]'', 1st ed, pp. 32, 94) One of the nay-sayers on the board, studio accountant Edwin "Ed" Holly, later conceded, "''If it were not for Lucy, there would be no 'Star Trek' today.''" [http://articles.latimes.com/1996-09-15/entertainment/ca-44038_1_star-trek-creator-trek-tidbits-desilu-studios] Ironically, the fears of the board were somewhat allayed by the subsequent cancellation of ''April Savage'' (the pilot episode of which produced by Roddenberry) by ABC in March 1966 after all. For all intents and purposes, and contrary to widely held beliefs in ''Star Trek''-lore, this was factually the very first time that the ''Original Series'' came exceedingly close to cancellation.
⚫
After the breakup of the Ball-Arnaz marriage, Desilu remained successful. In {{y|1962}}, Ball bought out Arnaz and became the first woman ever to run a major Hollywood studio. Her solo success continued unabated until {{d|15|February|1967}}, when Ball announced she would sell Desilu to [[Gulf+Western]]. This act brought Desilu under the same parent company as its next-door neighbor &ndash; [[Paramount Pictures]]. The event was commemorated by a dramatic ceremony in which Ball cut a ribbon of film stock which had replaced a long-standing wall between the two production companies. At the time of the ceremony on {{d|28|July|1967}}, {{e|Mirror, Mirror}} was being filmed. <ref name=Story>Sanders, Coyne Steven and Tom Gilbert. ''Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz''. HarperCollins. 1994. 297-298.</ref>
 
−
 
⚫
''Star Trek'' was a bone of contention in the transition between Desilu and Gulf+Western. Ed Holly once recalled a post-sale conversation he had with Charles G. Bluhdorn, chairman of Gulf+Western:
  
   
  ⚫
Like most television studios during the 1950s and 1960s, Desilu had a stable of annually-contracted actors and behind-the-scenes personnel. Such talent moved from production to production as needed, and were paid a salary instead of a per-appearance fee. A notable ''Star Trek''-related example was [[Majel Barrett]], who began such a contracted relationship with Desilu in {{y|1958}}. [http://www.efc.com/features/prod_mroddenberry.html] {{brokenlink|url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/112056.html}}
⚫
:"''Just a week or so after the merger, when Bluhdorn had started seeing the cost figures, he called me in the middle of the night. All I heard was 'What did you sell me? I'm going to the poorhouse!' I said, 'Charlie, you must be looking at ''Star Trek'' and ''Mission: Impossible''. Those shows are costing almost to the dollar what our projections showed they would cost. You and your people made the judgment that that was all right.''" <ref name=Story/>
  
   
  +
Desilu mainly operated on the facilities bought from RKO, which included the main Gower Street studio in Hollywood, next door to [[Paramount Pictures]], where most of ''Star Trek'' was filmed (on Stages 9 and 10, which became [[Paramount Stage 31]] and [[Paramount Stage 32|Stage 32]] after the merge). It also consisted of a [[Culver Studios|studio in Culver City]], where the two ''Star Trek'' pilots were filmed, and the [[40 Acres]] backlot - most famous for being "Mayberry" in ''The Andy Griffith Show'' - , which served as a filming location for many episodes.
⚫
For a brief time, Desilu continued to act as its own subdivision of Gulf+Western, but by {{m|December|1967}}, Gulf+Western fully merged Desilu with Paramount. This gradual transition resulted in several different forms of copyright for episodes of the [[TOS Season 2|second season of ''Star Trek'']]. Hence, the initial episodes of the season bear a Desilu logo and copyright, while episodes of the latter half of the second season bear a Desilu logo but a Paramount copyright.
  
  +
−
 
  ⚫
After the breakup of the Ball-Arnaz marriage, Desilu remained successful. In {{y|1962}}, Ball bought out Arnaz and became the first woman ever to run a major Hollywood studio. Her solo success continued unabated until {{d|15|February|1967}}, when Ball announced she would sell Desilu to [[Gulf+Western]], which was formalized on {{d|27|July|1967}}. This act brought Desilu under the same parent company as its next-door neighbor &ndash; [[Paramount Pictures]]. The event was commemorated the next day by a dramatic ceremony in which Ball cut a ribbon of film stock which had replaced a long-standing wall between the two production companies. At the time of the ceremony {{e|Mirror, Mirror}} was being filmed. (''Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz'', p. 297) Lucille Ball left the Desilu lot the very same day, directly after the ownership transfer ceremony, never to return.
−
Occasionally, the sets from other Desilu productions were re-used by ''Star Trek''. Notably, the downtown Mayberry set for ''The Andy Griffith Show'' was an irregular exterior.
  
  +
  ⚫
''Star Trek'' was a bone of contention in the transition between Desilu and Gulf+Western. Ed Holly once recalled a post-sale conversation he had with [[Charles Bluhdorn]], chairman of Gulf+Western:
  +
  ⚫
<blockquote>"Just a week or so after the merger, when Bluhdorn had started seeing the cost figures, he called me in the middle of the night. All I heard was 'What did you sell me? I'm going to the poorhouse!' I said, 'Charlie, you must be looking at ''Star Trek'' and ''Mission: Impossible''. Those shows are costing almost to the dollar what our projections showed they would cost. You and your people made the judgment that that was all right." (''Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz'', p. 298)</blockquote>
  +
  ⚫
For a brief time, Desilu continued to act as its own subdivision of Gulf+Western, but by {{m|December|1967}}, Gulf+Western fully merged Desilu with Paramount, being transformed into [[Paramount Television]]. This gradual transition resulted in several different forms of copyright for episodes of the [[TOS Season 2|second season]] of ''Star Trek''. Hence, the initial episodes of the season bear a Desilu logo and copyright, while episodes of the latter half of the second season bear a Desilu logo but a Paramount copyright.
   
 
== Desi Arnaz ==
  
== Desi Arnaz ==
−
'''Desi Arnaz''' {{born|2|March|1917|died|2|December|1986}} was a singer and actor best known for his starring role on ''[[I Love Lucy]]''. He co-founded Desilu with his wife [[Lucille Ball]]. She bought his shares of the company in 1961, three years before ''Star Trek'' joined their studio. His son-in-law, [[Laurence Luckinbill]] appeared as [[Sybok]] in {{film|5}}.
 +
'''Desi Arnaz''' {{born|2|March|1917|died|2|December|1986}} was a singer and actor best known for his starring role on ''[[I Love Lucy]]''. He co-founded Desilu with his wife Lucille Ball. She bought his shares of the company in 1961, three years before ''Star Trek'' joined their studio. His son-in-law, [[Laurence Luckinbill]] appeared as [[Sybok]] in {{film|5}}.
   
−
== References ==
 +
==Staff==
  +
:''note: this list is currently incomplete''
−
<references />
  
  +
<div class="appear">
  +
* '''Executive staff''' associated with ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' era until the acquisition of Desilu by Gulf+Western in July 1967 (&dagger; - Member of the Board of Directors)
  +
** Fred Henry Ball&dagger; - Vice-President in Charge of Real Estate
  +
** [[Lucille Ball]]&dagger; - Chairwoman of the Board, President Desilu Studios
  +
** [[Bill Heath]] - Vice-President in Charge of Post Production
  +
** Edwin Holly&dagger; - Vice-President in Charge of Financial Affairs
  +
** [[Oscar Katz]]&dagger; - Vice-President in Charge of Production (1964-1966; {{TOS|The Cage|Where No Man Has Gone Before}})
  +
** Gary Morton&dagger; - Co-Chairman of the Board
  +
** Argyle Nelson&dagger; - Vice-President in Charge of Production
  +
** Ed Perlstein - Assistant Vice-President in Charge of Business Affairs
  +
** [[Herbert F. Solow]] - Assistant Vice-President in Charge of Production (1964-1966), Vice-President in Charge of Production (1966-1967)
  +
** Bernard Weitzman&dagger; - Vice-President in Charge of Business Affairs
  +
* '''Production staff''' associated with ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', both prior and after the acquisition of Desilu by Gulf+Western
  +
** [[John D.F. Black]] - Associate Producer / Story Editor (1966)
  +
** [[Steven W. Carabatsos]] - Story Editor (1966-1967)
  +
** [[Wah Chang]] - Production Designer/Prop Builder (subcontractor/uncredited) (1964-1967)
  +
** [[Gene L. Coon]] - Producer / Writer (1966-1967, 1969)
  +
** [[Alexander Courage]] - Music Composer / Conductor
  +
** [[John M. Dwyer]] - Set Decorator
  +
** [[George Duning]] - Music Composer
  +
** [[Irving A. Feinberg]] - Property Master
  +
** [[D.C. Fontana]] - Story Editor (1967-1968)
  +
** [[Jerry Finnerman]] - Director of Photography (1966-1968)
  +
** [[Gerald Fried]] - Music Composer
  +
** [[Byron Haskin]] - Producer (1964)
  +
** [[John Jefferies]] - Set Designer
  +
** [[Matt Jefferies]] - Set Designer (1964; "The Cage")/Production Designer (1966)/Art Director (1965-1969)
  +
** [[Robert Justman]] - Assistant Director (1964-1965)/Producer (1965-1968)
  +
** [[Sol Kaplan]] - Music Composer
  +
** [[John Meredyth Lucas]] - Producer/Writer (1967-1968)
  +
** [[Edward K. Milkis]] - Post-production Supervisor (1966-1967)/ Associate Producer (1968-1969)
  +
** [[James A. Paisley]] - Production Supervisor (1964-1965; {{TOS|The Cage|Where No Man Has Gone Before|The Menagerie, Part II}})
  +
** [[Gregg Peters]] - Assistant Director (1966-1967)/Unit Production Manager (1967-68)
  +
** [[Fred Phillips]] - Makeup Artist (1964, 1966-1968)
  +
** [[Gene Roddenberry]] - Executive Producer/Writer (1964-1968)
  +
** [[Jim Rugg]] - Special Effects
  +
** [[George A. Rutter]] - Script Supervisor
  +
** [[Fred Steiner]] - Music Composer
  +
** [[William Ware Theiss]] - Costume Designer
  +
** [[Craig Thompson]] - Office Manager Post-Production
  +
** [[Andrea Weaver]] - Women's Costumer
  +
</div>
  +
  +
== Further reading ==
  +
*''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', June 1996
  +
* ''[http://www.amazon.com/Desilu-Story-Lucille-Ball-Arnaz/dp/0062020013|Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz]'', Coyne S. Sanders & Tom Gilbert, [[HarperCollins Publishers]], August 2001
  +
*''[[These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One]]'' and ''[[These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two|Season Two]]'', August 2012-March 2014
   
 
== Appendices ==
  
== Appendices ==
Line 32: Line 83:
 
=== External links ===
  
=== External links ===
 
* {{wikipedia}}
  
* {{wikipedia}}
  +
* {{IMDb-link|type=company|page=co0080662|name=Desilu Productions}}
  +
* {{IMDb-link|type=company|page=co0031728|name=Desilu Studios}}
 
* {{wikipedia|Desi Arnaz}}
  
* {{wikipedia|Desi Arnaz}}
 
* {{IMDb-link|page=nm0000789|name=Desi Arnaz}}
  
* {{IMDb-link|page=nm0000789|name=Desi Arnaz}}
−  
   
 
[[de:Desilu]]
  
[[de:Desilu]]
 
[[fr:Desilu]]
  
[[fr:Desilu]]
 
[[sv:Desilu]]
  
[[sv:Desilu]]
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[[Category:Production companies]]
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[[Category:TV and film production companies]]

Revision as of 15:09, 2 September 2015

Template:Realworld

Desilu logo

Desilu Productions, also credited as Desilu Studios, was the production company that started the Star Trek-franchise with the production of the, initially, un-aired 1965 pilot television episode "The Cage", and the Star Trek: The Original Series television series which began airing in September 1966.

History

Desilu Productions was formed in 1950 by Lucille Ball and her then-husband, Desi Arnaz. The name, a portmanteau of the couple's first names, was originally applied to the Ball-Arnaz ranch. The success of the television show I Love Lucy enabled Desilu to grow and expand throughout the 1950s. When RKO Pictures went bankrupt in 1957, Desilu bought its studios and location facilities. They produced a number of shows, including The Andy Griffith Show, and also lent their facilities for various other projects, such as My Favorite Martian, I, Spy, My Three Sons and The Untouchables. In 1962, Desilu signed an six-year agreement with Paramount to a show based on Paramount Pictures properties.

By April 1964, Desilu found itself in dire straits as The Lucy Show was the studio's only remaining self-made production, even though other shows were still produced on the studio lot as consignments from other production companies, such as the Bing Crosby Productions' television series Ben Casey. Oscar Katz and his assistant Herb Solow (soon promoted to studio production head in Katz' stead) were hired to search for writers with new and interesting concepts and develop them into series ideas, in order to safeguard the future existence of the ailing studio. This the Katz/Solow duo did with much gusto, as evidenced by Katz proudly boasting at his first Desilu shareholders meeting in May 1964, where he informed the assembly that no less than twenty-two television propositions were under advisement. (Los Angeles Times, 14 May 1964) Amongst the ones contracted were two ambitious writer/producers: Gene Roddenberry with Star Trek and Bruce Geller with Mission: Impossible. Both series went into production for the 1966-67 television season. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, 1997, pp. 5-14)

Desilu had a first-refusal agreement with CBS, which is why Star Trek was first pitched to that network. However, CBS refused to buy it, opting for Irwin Allen's more family-oriented series, Lost in Space instead. When CBS passed on the show, only then was NBC approached. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story)

Yet, Katz and Solow were arguably too successful in their assignment, as the studio found itself unexpectedly confronted with the production of three expensive television properties, which aside from Star Trek and Mission Impossible (ordered by network CBS), also included the western series The Long Hunt for April Savage (ordered by network ABC), all of them brought in by Katz and Solow, where there had only been one before, the I Love Lucy show. The conservative board of directors feared, not entirely unjustified, that the small studio would financially overstretch itself. Vigorously defended by Solow, and despite the fact that Star Trek series was already ordered by NBC, after the second pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", had been produced, virtually the entire Desilu Board of Directors voted to cancel Star Trek in February 1966 nevertheless, board member Bernard Weitzman being the sole exception. Yet, as Chairwoman of the Board, Lucille Ball had the power to override her board, and this she did with a mere nod of her head towards Solow. "That was all Star Trek needed," as author Marc Cushman had succinctly put it, "A nod of Lucille Ball." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One, 1st ed, pp. 32, 94) One of the nay-sayers on the board, studio accountant Edwin "Ed" Holly, later conceded, "If it were not for Lucy, there would be no 'Star Trek' today." [1] Ironically, the fears of the board were somewhat allayed by the subsequent cancellation of April Savage (the pilot episode of which produced by Roddenberry) by ABC in March 1966 after all. For all intents and purposes, and contrary to widely held beliefs in Star Trek-lore, this was factually the very first time that the Original Series came exceedingly close to cancellation.

Like most television studios during the 1950s and 1960s, Desilu had a stable of annually-contracted actors and behind-the-scenes personnel. Such talent moved from production to production as needed, and were paid a salary instead of a per-appearance fee. A notable Star Trek-related example was Majel Barrett, who began such a contracted relationship with Desilu in 1958. [2] Template:Brokenlink

Desilu mainly operated on the facilities bought from RKO, which included the main Gower Street studio in Hollywood, next door to Paramount Pictures, where most of Star Trek was filmed (on Stages 9 and 10, which became Paramount Stage 31 and Stage 32 after the merge). It also consisted of a studio in Culver City, where the two Star Trek pilots were filmed, and the 40 Acres backlot - most famous for being "Mayberry" in The Andy Griffith Show - , which served as a filming location for many episodes.

After the breakup of the Ball-Arnaz marriage, Desilu remained successful. In 1962, Ball bought out Arnaz and became the first woman ever to run a major Hollywood studio. Her solo success continued unabated until 15 February 1967, when Ball announced she would sell Desilu to Gulf+Western, which was formalized on 27 July 1967. This act brought Desilu under the same parent company as its next-door neighbor – Paramount Pictures. The event was commemorated the next day by a dramatic ceremony in which Ball cut a ribbon of film stock which had replaced a long-standing wall between the two production companies. At the time of the ceremony "Mirror, Mirror" was being filmed. (Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, p. 297) Lucille Ball left the Desilu lot the very same day, directly after the ownership transfer ceremony, never to return.

Star Trek was a bone of contention in the transition between Desilu and Gulf+Western. Ed Holly once recalled a post-sale conversation he had with Charles Bluhdorn, chairman of Gulf+Western:

"Just a week or so after the merger, when Bluhdorn had started seeing the cost figures, he called me in the middle of the night. All I heard was 'What did you sell me? I'm going to the poorhouse!' I said, 'Charlie, you must be looking at Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. Those shows are costing almost to the dollar what our projections showed they would cost. You and your people made the judgment that that was all right." (Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, p. 298)

For a brief time, Desilu continued to act as its own subdivision of Gulf+Western, but by December 1967, Gulf+Western fully merged Desilu with Paramount, being transformed into Paramount Television. This gradual transition resulted in several different forms of copyright for episodes of the second season of Star Trek. Hence, the initial episodes of the season bear a Desilu logo and copyright, while episodes of the latter half of the second season bear a Desilu logo but a Paramount copyright.

Desi Arnaz

Desi Arnaz (2 March 1917 – 2 December 1986; age 69) was a singer and actor best known for his starring role on I Love Lucy. He co-founded Desilu with his wife Lucille Ball. She bought his shares of the company in 1961, three years before Star Trek joined their studio. His son-in-law, Laurence Luckinbill appeared as Sybok in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

Staff

note: this list is currently incomplete

Further reading

Appendices

Related topics

External links

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