King of the half hour

by David Everitt

"Regarded by his contemporaries as one of television's premier comedy creators, Nat Hiken was the driving creative force behind the classic 1950s and 1960s character Sargeant Bilko and the hilarious series Car 54, are Are You?". "King of the Half Hour, the first biography of Hiken, draws extensively on exclusive first-hand interviews with some of the well-known TV personalities who worked with him, such as Carol Burnett, Fred Gwynne, Alan King, Al Lewis, and Herbert Ross. David Everitt focuses on Hiken's immense talent and remarkable career, from his early days in radio as Fred Allen's head writer to his multiple-Emmy-winning years as writer-producer-director in television.". "In addition to reestablishing Hiken's place in broadcast history, Everitt places him in the larger story of early New York broadcasting. Hiken's career paralleled the rise and fall of television's Golden Age. He embodied the era's best qualities - craftsmanship, a commitment to excellence, and a distinctive, upro