Bert Granet

New York-born television pioneer Bert Granet graduated with a B.A. from Yale University. He began in the film industry in 1934, and, a decade later, was working as writer-producer under contract at RKO (1944-48). He set up his own short-lived production company, Kaladore Corporation, under which banner he released just one feature film (a rather obscure item, entitled The Torch (1950), set in revolutionary Mexico, with an all-Mexican cast -- the single exception being star Paulette Goddard). In the mid-50's, Granet joined Desilu Productions to produce light, unpretentious entertainment like The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957) and the weekly anthology series Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958). Reputedly 'a hard-nosed realist', Granet's success in the medium stemmed from vowing audiences through signing top movie actors and acquiring scripts from well-established and respected writers. One of these turned out to be the genial Rod Serling -- introduced to Granet via a mutual friend, the di