Nancy Malone

Actress / Director / Producer


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

In her three-and-a-half-hour interview, Nancy Malone (1935-2014) talks about growing up in New York and her early introduction to acting and modeling as a child, including being featured in Life magazine as "The Typical American Child" in 1946. She discusses studying acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory and the Actors Studio and speaks of working with James Dean, Dean Stockwell, and others on Matinee Theater and Naked City in the 1950s. She details her role as "Robin Lang Bauer Bowden Fletcher" on Guiding Light, as well as appearances on The Fugitive, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show, and Ironside. She then chronicles her transition from acting to producing and the formation of her company, Lilac Productions. She describes producing specials such as Winner Take All with Shirley Jones and talks about becoming a director on such shows as Dynasty, Cagney & Lacey, The Bradys, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Touched by an Angel, Picket Fences, Diagnosis: Murder, and the special Bob Hope: The First 90 Years, for which she won an Emmy award. She outlines her career as an executive, her work with Women in Film, and offers her advice to aspiring television actors, directors, and executives. Karen Herman conducted the interview on May 3, 2010 in Toluca Lake, CA.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"I wish somehow there could be a billboard that says to these young actors: 'strive to be great.' Even if you're not required by the script. Strive to find something that expands you."

People Talking About ...
Highlights
Nancy Malone on how her acting background helped her become a better producer
01:47
Nancy Malone on her directing process: "find what the story is about"
02:07
Nancy Malone on playing a prank on Joan Collins when she was directing Dynasty; on why she had fun with actors
02:15
Nancy Malone on what she learned from studying acting with Stella Adler: "strive to be great"
02:17
Nancy Malone on her advice to aspiring actors
04:53
Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On her childhood and parents, growing up in New York City
On her start in an acting career at a very young age which came about because she accompanied her brother to a casting call; on her career as a child model; on being selected for the cover of Life magazine in 1946
On deciding to go into acting as a profession; on appearing on an episode of Hallmark Hall of Fame with James Dean
On her studies with Stella Adler and the Actor's Studio
On her early work on live television in the 1950s; Matinee Theater  and the realities of working live; on Guiding Light (in the early 1960s)
On co-starring as "Libby" on Naked City with Paul Burke (1960-63); on working on Guiding Light and a play at the same time; on the Twilight Zone episode she appeared on "Stopover in a Quiet Town"

Chapter 2

On celebrity and fame and how it's changed
On the Twilight Zone episode "Stopover in a Quiet Town" and working with Rod Serling
On working on the series The Long Hot Summer with Edmond O'Brien (1965-66) on ABC
On Dr. Kildare,  The Fugitive; The Outer Limits, Bonanza, The Andy Griffith Show, and Ironsides (with Raymond Burr)
On transitioning her career from acting to producing with Tomorrow Entertainment; on producing Winner Take All; on forming Lilac Entertainment
On becoming the first female vice-president of a major studio at 20th Century Fox; on producing after-school specials
On transitioning from producing to directing; on producing The Violation of Sarah McDavid with Patty Duke and a difficult director

Chapter 3

On how she became a director; on There Were Times, Dear a project she directs and produces with Linda Hope about Alzheimer's disease 
On becoming a series TV director on Dynasty; on working with DP Michel Hugo; on being a woman working in the television industry
On directing Cagney & Lacey, The Bradys, Melrose Place, Bob Hope: The First 90 Years, Touched by an Angel, Picket Fences, Star Trek: Voyager, Diagnosis Murder; on her directing process

Chapter 4

On Women in Film and changes in the television industry for women; on how the industry as a whole has changed
On her advice to actors, directors, and producers and how she'd like to be remembered
Shows

Andy Griffith Show, The

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Nancy Malone on appearing on The Andy Griffith Show and why she wanted to do it

Beverly Hills, 90210

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Nancy Malone on directing Beverly Hills, 90210  and the issues with one of the actors who was late
03:11

Bob Hope: The First 90 Years

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Nancy Malone on directing Bob Hope: The First 90 Years in honor of the legend's 90th birthday (NBC, 1993) for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy special

Bonanza

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Nancy Malone on appearing on Bonanza; she was an expert horsewoman

Bradys, The

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Nancy Malone on directing The Bradys with Florence Henderson and Robert Reed

Brighter Day, The

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Nancy Malone on working on the soap Brighter Day with Joe Sirola

Cagney & Lacey

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Nancy Malone on directing Cagney & Lacey with Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless; on later directing Sharon in The Trials of Rosie O'Neill which garnered her an Emmy nomination

Diagnosis Murder

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Nancy Malone on directing Diagnosis: Murder  with Dick Van Dyke
00:52

Dr. Kildare

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Nancy Malone on appearing on Dr. Kildare with Richard Chamberlain
00:40

Dynasty

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Nancy Malone on becoming a series director on Dynasty and working with Esther Shapiro and Linda Evans
Nancy Malone on directing the 100th anniversary of Dynasty with the help of DP Michel Hugo; on working with Joan Collins

Fugitive, The

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Nancy Malone on appearing on The Fugitive with David Janssen
02:07

Guiding Light

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Nancy Malone on her role as "Robin" on Guiding Light
00:20

Ironside

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Nancy Malone on her role on Ironside with Raymond Burr

Like Mom, Like Me

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Nancy Malone on producing Like Mom, Like Me, a two-hour CBS after school special

Long Hot Summer, The

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Nancy Malone on working on the series The Long Hot Summer  with Edmond O'Brien (1965-66) on ABC

Melrose Place

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Nancy Malone on directing Melrose Place; on Heather Locklear

NBC Matinee Theater

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Nancy Malone on working with Dean Stockwell on Matinee Theater

Naked City

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Nancy Malone on co-starring with Paul Burke on Naked City as "Libby" (1960-63)

Outer Limits, The (1963-65)

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Nancy Malone on appearing on The Outer Limits with Nick Adams

Picket Fences

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Nancy Malone on directing an episode of Picket Fences with Tom Skerritt

Sherlock Holmes in New York

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Nancy Malone on executive-producing Sherlock Holmes in New York (NBC, 1976) with Roger Moore and John Huston

Star Trek: Voyager

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Nancy Malone on directing Star Trek: Voyager a different format for her
02:33

There Were Times, Dear

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Nancy Malone on how she came to produce and direct There Were Times, Dear about Alzheimer's disease written by Harry Cauley and starring Shirley Jones

Touched By an Angel

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Nancy Malone on an episode of Touched by An Angel she directed called "Operation Smile"
02:47

Trials of Rosie O'Neill, The

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Nancy Malone on directing Sharon Gless in The Trials of Rosie O'Neill  which garnered her an Emmy nomination and which Gless actually sang for

Twilight Zone, The

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Nancy Malone on the Twilight Zone episode "Stopover in a Quiet Town"
Nancy Malone on the Twilight Zone  episode "Stopover in a Quiet Town" and working with Rod Serling

Winner Take All (1975)

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Nancy Malone on Winner Take All with Shirley Jones, which she produced with her own production company Lilac Productions
02:40
Topics

TV's Golden Age (1940s & '50s)

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Nancy Malone on the pressures of working in early, live television
04:47

We Considered

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Nancy Malone on how she came to produce and direct There Were Times, Dear  about Alzheimer's disease and the impact it had

Women

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Nancy Malone on the changes for women in the television industry and the Women in Film organization
Professions

Actress

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Nancy Malone on what she learned from studying acting with Stella Adler
02:37

Directors

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Nancy Malone on directing the 100th anniversary of Dynasty  with the help of DP Michel Hugo
Nancy Malone on directing Beverly Hills 90210  and the issues with one of the actors who was late
03:11
Nancy Malone on her directing process: "find what the story is about"; on her "mentor" Michel Hugo

Executives

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Nancy Malone on becoming the first female vice-president of a major studio at 20th Century Fox in 1977

Producers

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Nancy Malone on the role of a Producer
01:23
Genres

Drama Series

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Nancy Malone on directing Beverly Hills 90210  and the issues with one of the actors who was late
03:11

Sci-Fi/Supernatural Series

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Nancy Malone on directing Star Trek: Voyager  and her struggles with visual effects
People

Stella Adler

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Nancy Malone on what she learned from studying acting with Stella Adler
02:37

Paul Burke

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On working with Paul Burke, her Naked City co-star
09:18

Raymond Burr

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Nancy Malone on her role on Ironside  with Raymond Burr

Joan Collins

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Nancy Malone on directing Dynasty and working with Joan Collins and on her professionalism; on a prank she played on her

Joan Crawford

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Nancy Malone on seeing Joan Crawford taking the time to sign autographs and how much celebrity has changed today
01:07

Dick Van Dyke

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Nancy Malone on directing Diagnosis: Murder with Dick Van Dyke

Sharon Gless

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Nancy Malone on directing Sharon Gless on both Cagney & Lacey and The Trials of Rosie O'Neill (CBS) 

Michel Hugo

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Nancy Malone on working with Michel Hugo on Dynasty on which he was the director of photography and his influence on her as a director

John Huston

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Nancy Malone on executive-producing Sherlock Holmes in New York  (NBC, 1976) with Roger Moore and John Huston
02:52

David Janssen

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Nancy Malone on working on The Fugitive  with David Janssen

Heather Locklear

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Nancy Malone on the professionalism of Heather Locklear

Thomas W. Moore

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Nancy Malone on Thomas Moore encouraging her to become an executive

Rod Serling

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Nancy Malone on the Twilight Zone  episode "Stopover in a Quiet Town" and working with Rod Serling
03:48

Esther Shapiro

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Nancy Malone on becoming a series director on Dynasty  and working with Esther Shapiro and Linda Evans

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