a fosse/olden postscript

One of the responses to my how to appreciate "how to succeed" essay came from DanM, who made an astute observation that I'd like to share:

"Great article! I learned a lot about one of my favorite films. I don't know if I'm off-base but when the "Secretary" number travels into the secretarial pool and we are introduced to the three men standing with their backs to the camera, I have always been reminded of the Georg Olden-designed logo for "To Tell The Truth." Maybe it was the zeitgeist of the era, but that connection has stayed with me all these years."

Good catch, Dan. Yes, the iconic Olden design logo for "To Tell the Truth" certainly does seem to have been the inspiration for one of Bob Fosse's trademark dance postures during that number in "How to Succeed."

FYI: Georg Elliott Olden, born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1920, was an acclaimed graphic artist who initially worked in the art department of CBS and as such was one of the first African-Americans to work in television. In 1963, he was the first African-American to design a postage stamp for the U. S. Postal Service. He died in 1975 at age 56.

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~images~
(from top) 

~Tucker Smith (from left),  Howard Parker and Paul Bradley as the dancing junior executives in the "A Secretary Is Not a Toy" in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"

 ~photography: United Artists 1967©

~Georg Elliott Olden, 1920-1975 

~The Georg Olden logo design for "To Tell the Truht"

 ~Georg Olden/CBS 1956©