''Meet the Boss'' was an American series broadcast on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

from June 10, 1952, to May 12, 1953. The series was hosted initially by

Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to: People *Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player *Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s *Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), profes ...

. Marshall McNeil replaced Cunningham on October 7, 1952. Robert Sullivan also hosted the show.

Background and format

The program was a spinoff of the TV show ''

Industry on Parade ''Industry on Parade'' was a short television program that aired in the United States from 1950–1960. It was produced by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The show depicts complicated industrial processes that transform raw mater ...

''. DuMont executives asked the National Association of Manufacturers, which produced that program, to develop ''Meet the Boss'', which was " signed to humanize industry and its executives." DuMont's program director, James L. Caddigan, developed the show. The host of the show interviewed executives from American businesses about their own careers and about the industries in which they worked. Guests on one episode were Andrew Heiskell, publisher of '' Life''; W. Paul Jones, president of Servel Inc.; and Joseph P. Spang, president of

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

. The show initially was broadcast on Tuesdays from 10:30 to 11 p.m. Eastern Time. On October 3, 1952, it moved to 10-10:30 p.m. E.T. on Tuesdays.

Episode status

A single episode survives as part of the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

collection.Search Peabody Award database at UGA/U. of Georgia
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Critical response

A review in '' The New York Times'' said, "The idea behind ''Meet the Boss'' is sound ... t the presentation's execution is faulty in almost every respect". It cited uncertainty on the parts of Cunningham and the show itself as two "what their point of view is to be." The review also noted that the program focused too much on praise of the companies represented ("straight press agentry"), while it failed to provide its own research about those companies. Another concern was time, with the reviewer commenting, "Any one of his guests last week was worth a half-hour by himself", in contrast to the three executives who appeared in the 30-minute episode.

References

Bibliography

*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004)

External links