Summary
Creator
- Home improvement (Television program) (Organization)
Abstract
Carmen Finestra is a scriptwriter for some of the episodes of these television series. He was the creative consultant for the "Punky Brewster" show and writer for "The Bill Cosby Show." The collection contains outlines, drafts, and shooting scripts for the television situation comedy, "Home Improvement," including initial casting, crew, and character breakdowns, 1991-1998; drafts, beats, outlines, shooting scripts for the 1994 season of the television series "Thunder Alley" and drafts, pick-ups, reshoots, and shooting scripts for the 1997-1998 season of "Soul Man."
Dates
- Creation: 1991-1998
Extent
19 Linear Feet
Background
Biographical / Historical
Carmen Finestra, after graduating from Pennsylvania State University in 1969, worked with the Harrisburg Community Theater where he developed his creative talents for acting and writing. Moving to New York City via Philadelphia, he supported himself in a variety of jobs while acting and doing stand-up comedy. Broadway producer Joe Cates recognized Finestra's talent for writing humorous memos as a gofer and gave him a job writing for a Johnny Cash summer series. Comedian Steve Martin, also on the Cash show, later hired Finestra to write nightclub and variety show material for which he won two Writer's Guild awards. Television situation comedy writing assignments included the series Chico and the Man, Love Boat, Angie, and Sha Na Na, and variety specials with Martin Mull and Paul Reubens. In the fall of 1984 Finestra served as creative consultant on the sitcom Punky Brewster. This led to his involvement as a writer for The Bill Cosby Show when he received a call from head writer Eliot Shoenman during mid-season. In the 1990s Finestra wrote for television series Home Improvement, Soul Man and Thunder Alley.
Scope and Contents
The collection contains outlines, drafts, and shooting scripts for the television situation comedy, Home Improvement, including initial casting, crew, and character breakdowns, 1991-1998; drafts, beats, outlines, and shooting scripts for the 1994 season of the television series, Thunder Alley; and drafts, pick-ups, reshoots, and shooting scripts for the 1997-1998 season of Soul Man.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into three series: Home Improvement, Soul Man, and Thunder Alley scripts. The series are arranged by television season and thereunder by airdate of the show.
Location
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Penn State University Libraries catalog via the link above. Archival collections may be housed in offsite storage. For materials stored offsite, please allow 2-3 business days for retrieval.
Processing Information
Processed by Special Collections staff.
Subjects
- Casting (Performing arts) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Manuscripts Subject Source: Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms
- Television comedies Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Television scripts Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Names
Creator
- Home improvement (Television program) (Organization)
- Thunder alley (Motion picture) (Person)
- Soul of Man (Musical group) (Organization)
Using These Materials
Repository Details
Part of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library Repository
104 Paterno Library
Penn State University
University Park 16802 USA
(814) 865-1793
spcollections@psu.edu
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
Photocopies of original materials may be made available for research purposes at the discretion of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library. Photocopies or reproductions of original materials may be subject to fees as outlined by the Pennsylvania State University Libraries reproduction policies.
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. Patrons seeking advice on the availability of unpublished materials for publication should consult relevant copyright law and laws of libel.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Carmen Finestra Television Show Scripts: "Home Improvement," "Soul Man," "Thunder Alley," 02622, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, Pennsylvania State University.
- Title
- Guide to the Carmen FinestraTelevision Show Scripts: "Home Improvement," "Soul Man," "Thunder Alley", 1991-1998
- Status
- Published
- Author
- Prepared by Special Collections Library faculty/staff
- Date
- 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2021: Lexy deGraffenreid simplified the intellectual inventory by removing all of the subseries for "unspecified". She also updated the finding aid status and standardized notes for current standard.