Oral Histories
Interview of C. E. Carle
Public relations executive affiliated with Paramount, MGM, and Twentieth Century-Fox.
- Subtitle:
- Recollections of C. E. “Teet” Carle
- Series:
- Oral History of the Motion Picture in America
- Topic:
- Film and Television
- Biographical Note:
- Public relations executive affiliated with Paramount, MGM, and Twentieth Century-Fox.
- Interviewee:
- Carle, C. E.
- Supporting Documents:
- Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
- Length:
- 6.5 hrs.
- Language:
- English
- Copyright:
- Interviewee Retained Copyright
- Series Statement:
- These interviews with prominent individuals in the motion picture industry were completed under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Film Institute to the UCLA Department of Theater Arts. The project was directed by Howard Suber, UCLA Department of Theater Arts. The UCLA Oral History Program provided technical advice but was not involved in respondent selection, research participation, research preparation, interviewing, editing, or transcript preparation.
- Abstract:
- Need for enthusiasm in public relations work; interest in show business while growing up in Emporia, Kansas; working for William Allen White on Emporia Gazette; move to Los Angeles, 1922; graduation from University of Southern California (USC), 1924; reporter, Pomona Progress; director of sports publicity for USC, 1925-27; employed by Paramount Pictures publicity department, 1927-36; sending publicity stories out to news-papers around the country; first film assignment, W.C. Fields and Chester Conklin in Two Flaming Youths; use of pressbooks; publicity for George M. Cohan in The Phantom President; The Big Broadcast with Bing Crosby, Burns and Allen, and the Mills Brothers; Fredric March's attitude toward publicity; picture releases and publicity during World War II; influence of distributors; organization of Wampas by studio publicists, 1921; joins Wampas, 1927; Writers Club; early Wampas Frolic balls; Los Angeles blue laws; Pete Smith, early president of Wampas; Screen Publicists Guild (SPG) organized, 1937; James Cagney, Robert Montgomery, and Screen Actors Guild benefits; SPG's work with Hollywood Canteen during World War II; president, SPG, 1944-45; Hubbard Keavy, first Associated Press correspondent assigned to motion pictures; planting publicity stories in local newspapers; fan magazines; publicist for Marx brothers' pictures; Monkey Business; move to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer publicity department, 1936; Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy; A Day at the Races; Boomtown; The Philadelphia Story; Greta Garbo at Gay's Lion Farm; return to Paramount, 1940; work on Preston Sturges's Sullivan's Travels; move to Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958; work on special assignments; winning Les Mason Award from SPG; apprentices in SPG; publicity as profession.