Emmons Carlson
| Emmons Carlson | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 17, 1892 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| 💀Died | January 20, 1978 (aged 85) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.January 20, 1978 (aged 85) |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 💼 Occupation | NBC radio marketing executive, writer |
Emmons Carlson (December 17, 1892 – January 20, 1978) was an advertising and sales promotion executive with NBC in Chicago (1930-1947). While working at NBC, he co-created with Irna Phillips the radio soap opera The Guiding Light.
Early Life[edit]
Emmons was the fifth of seven children born in Chicago, Illinois to August and Serena (Berry) Carlson, immigrants from Sweden and Norway, respectively. From 1917 through 1919, Emmons served in the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. He enlisted as a Private in the Ordnance Department, 42nd Division, and rose to the rank of Sergeant. While serving in France, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps and served the remainder of the war at General Pershing's headquarters in Chaumont.[1] He never married or had children.
Career[edit]
After returning from the war, Carlson found work in the advertising industry. In 1923, he became District Advertising Manager in the Chicago office of RCA. In 1928, he was promoted to National Sales Promotion Manager for RCA in New York City. In 1930, he took over the Advertising and Sales Department at NBC, the radio broadcast network founded by RCA in 1926.[1]
The Guiding Light[edit]
One day in 1936, Carlson had lunch with Irna Phillips, a well-known radio script writer, and they discussed ideas for a new radio program. Their idea, based on Carlson's concept of a Swedish-born pastor (a “guiding light”) bringing together several families of immigrant parents and thoroughly American children, later became the longest running soap opera of all time, The Guiding Light. Carlson wrote the opening scripts as well as the sales promotion. At first, he regarded the whole exercise as “an extra-curricular undertaking and ... a means for gaining additional knowledge that should help in his work” as an advertising executive, but to his surprise and delight, NBC accepted his scripts, and Procter & Gamble agreed to sponsor the program.[1]
Due to his employment in another department at NBC, Carlson could not take credit for his initial scripts, but he and Phillips had a hand-shake agreement for joint ownership of the program. When The Guiding Light proved to be a great success, Phillips began to claim full credit. In August 1941, Carlson sued her for his share of the proceeds.[2] After a long court battle, Carlson received half ownership of the program plus a large financial settlement, which Variety reported was expected to be about $250,000.[3]
This was not the end of things, however. On 27 May 1946, Carl Wester, the show's producer, filed a claim that he was the sole owner of the program, that he had sold it to General Mills, and that he intended to move production to the West Coast in November. For their part, Carlson's lawyers indicated that he “would be willing to dissolve partnership which was established by a recent court order for his share, plus half the proceeds of the sale if General Mills decides to take up its $50,000 option on buying the show. If General Mills doesn’t buy Light,” Carlson “will ask for half of proceeds until 1949, the length of [the] present contract with the food company.”[4] Negotiations continued between Carlson's and Phillips's attorneys. In September 1946, Carlson's side rejected a settlement offer of $125,000 to resolve his claims. Earl Schiek, Carlson's attorney, called this amount “ridiculously low,” considering that the show had made over $1 million since its inception, and that it was now generating $3,000 per week.[5] In October 1946, the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County ruled in favor of Schiek's filing to place the show in receivership until the matter was resolved. George A. Lane was appointed receiver, and the program was ordered to remain in Chicago, nixing Carl Wester's attempts to bring it to Hollywood. Meanwhile, General Mills announced that it was backing out of the show and would cancel it within a few weeks.[6] The cancellation date was later fixed at 29 November 1946. That same month Judge John Prystalski rejected a petition from Irna Phillips to set aside the ruling that Carlson ranked as a partner in the show, and thus deserved a share of the profits.[7] The Carlson-Phillips lawsuit has been called the most voluminous non-murder case of its era in Chicago.[2]
Retirement[edit]
After winning co-credit for The Guiding Light, Carlson retired from NBC in December 1947. In 1948, he unsuccessfully attempted to sell a new script called "Our Daily Bread" for radio or motion pictures.[1]
Death[edit]
Emmons Carlson died on 20 January 1978 at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago. He is buried in Mount Emblem Cemetery in Elmhurst, Illinois.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Carlson, Emmons (1948). A Brief Autobiography of Emmons C. Carlson, author of "Our Daily Bread". Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 White, Les (Spring 2005). "Imperial Soap Opera" (PDF). The Common Review. 3 (4): 24. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
- ↑ "Proposed Gen. Mills Hour Switch from Chi to H'wood Stymied by Court Action". Variety. 15 May 1946.
- ↑ ""Guiding Light" Gets More Involved with Legal Complications". The Billboard. 58 (22): 5, 10. 1 June 1946.
- ↑ ""Light" Negotiations Stymied, Carlson to File 2 New Motions". The Billboard. 58 (38): 10. 21 September 1946.
- ↑ "Name Receiver for "Light" Opera". The Billboard. 58 (43): 5. 26 October 1946.
- ↑ "Carlson Wins Another Round in "The Guiding Light" Suit". The Billboard. 58 (48): 12. 30 November 1946.
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