Copyright by Avi Santo 2006
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Copyright by Avi Santo 2006 The Dissertation Committee for Avi Dan Santo Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Transmedia Brand Licensing Prior to Conglomeration: George Trendle and the Lone Ranger and Green Hornet Brands, 1933-1966 Committee: ______________________________ Thomas Schatz, Co-Supervisor ______________________________ Michael Kackman, Co-Supervisor ______________________________ Mary Kearney ______________________________ Janet Staiger ______________________________ John Downing Transmedia Brand Licensing Prior to Conglomeration: George Trendle and the Lone Ranger and Green Hornet Brands, 1933-1966 by Avi Dan Santo, B.F.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2006 Acknowledgements The support I have received from family, friends, colleagues and strangers while writing this dissertation has been wonderful and inspiring. Particular thanks go out to my dissertation group -- Kyle Barnett, Christopher Lucas, Afsheen Nomai, Allison Perlman, and Jennifer Petersen – who read many early drafts of this project and always offered constructive feedback and enthusiastic encouragement. I would also like to thank Hector Amaya, Mary Beltran, Geoff Betts, Marnie Binfield, Alexis Carreiro, Marian Clarke, Caroline Frick, Hollis Griffin, Karen Gustafson, Sharon Shahaf, Yaron Shemer, and David Uskovich for their generosity of time and patience in reading drafts and listening to my concerns without ever making these feel like impositions. A special thank you to Joan Miller, who made this past year more than bearable and brought tremendous joy and calm into my life. Without you, this project would have been a far more painful experience and my life a lot less pleasurable. Finally, an additional thank you must go out to Allison Perlman, who copyedited this project for virtually no money, sacrificing her time and putting up with my run-on sentences and split infinitives. You are a good friend. The feedback and guidance I received from my co-supervisors, Michael Kackman and Tom Schatz was invaluable. Their willingness to work with me on meeting my looming deadlines while still pushing me to take this project further than I felt capable are much appreciated. I would iv also like to thank the rest of my committee – John Downing, Mary Kearney, Janet Staiger, and Joseph Straubhaar – who each helped further this project and offered valuable suggestions on how to proceed. A special thank you as well to Debbie Coleman, whose support and assistance in deciphering the University’s rules and regulations has saved me on several occasions. Finally, I’d like to thank my Bubbi for her endless faith in me. v Transmedia Brand Licensing Prior to Conglomeration: George Trendle and the Lone Ranger and Green Hornet Brands, 1933-1966 Publication No. _______________ Avi Dan Santo, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2006 Co-Supervisors: Thomas Schatz and Michael Kackman In this dissertation, I argue for the need to examine the emergence of licensing and branding practices prior to media conglomeration. Through an in depth exploration of George Trendle’s licensing arrangements for the Lone Ranger and Green Hornet brands’, I trace how contemporary licensing practices took root while also arguing for the need to analyze licensors as cultural intermediaries with particular occupational identities, attitudes and values that shape their daily business practices. This project uses historical records archived at the Detroit Public Library and the American Heritage Center in Laramie Wyoming to re-write the history of trans-media relations between the years 1933-1966 through the lens of one of the most successful independent licensors of his era. Trendle not only shaped future licensing practices, but the degree of vi independent managerial authority he exercised over his brands also exceeded the norms of most intermediaries, leading to his eventual marginalization within the emerging media conglomerates of the late 1960s. vii Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction ……………………………………… 1 Periodization …………………………………………… 11 George W. Trendle and Associates …………………… 20 Materials ………………………………………………. 37 Literature Review ……………………………………... 38 Commercial Intertexts and Cross-Media History ….. 40 Trans-Media Brands and the Selling Power of Personality ………………………………………….. 45 The Production of Culture ………………………….. 51 Cultures of Production …………………………….... 62 Child Consumers …………………………………… 71 Chapter Breakdown ……………………………………. 77 Endnotes ……………………………………………….. 85 Chapter Two: The Lone Ranger and the Branding of an Intertext …………………………………………………... 91 The Lone Ranger Formula ……………………………... 97 The Business Model …………………………………... 109 Children, Branding and the Depression ………………. 132 The Conflicted Career of Little Orphan Annie ……….. 138 Lone Ranger Safety Club ……………………………... 144 Conclusion ……………………………………………. 162 Endnotes ……………………………………………… 166 Chapter Three: National Aspirations and Representational Struggles ……………………………………………………... 173 Shared Heritage ………………………………………. 184 viii Difficulties in Marketing/Merchandising …………….. 197 National Problems ……………………………………. 210 Audience Confusion ………………………………….. 214 Representational Concerns: Realism, Race and Ownership ……………………………………….. 222 Legal Battles …………………………………………. 242 Conclusion …………………………………………… 256 Endnotes ……………………………………………... 262 Chapter Four: Managing the Lone Ranger in the Postwar Consumers’ Republic ………………………………………... 271 Social Context ……………………………………….. 279 Industrial Context ……………………………………. 291 Going to Hollywood …………………………………. 295 General Mills ………………………………………… 304 Lone Ranger Television ……………………………… 311 The Radio-TV Inter-Text …………………………….. 319 Making an Appearance ………………………………. 329 American Heritage …………………………………… 334 Tonto is an Indian? ………………………………….... 351 Rise of the Corporation – Decline of the Licensor? ….. 361 Conclusion ……………………………………………. 367 Endnotes ……………………………………………… 370 Chapter Five: Formula Innovations and Business Practice Intransigence: The Post-War Green Hornet Brand …………… 383 The Green Hornet Postwar Business …………………. 389 Genre Reformulation and Confusion …………………. 404 Losing “Independence” ……………………………….. 421 ix Conclusion ……………………………………………. 435 Endnotes ……………………………………………… 440 Chapter Six: Bond, Batmania, and Merchandising Memories: The 1966 Green Hornet TV Series in Context ……………….. 445 The Classical Network Era …………………………… 451 Bond, Batmania and Merchandising …………………. 456 Green Hornet Deal ……………………………………. 471 Memory ……………………………………………….. 477 Competing Agendas: Trendle versus Dozier …………. 487 Death of a Brand ……………………………………… 510 Conclusion ……………………………………………. 514 Endnotes ……………………………………………… 519 Chapter Seven: Conclusion …………………………………… 531 Endnotes ………………………………………………. 556 Bibliography ………………………………………………….. 558 Vita ……………………………………………………………. 566 x Chapter One: Introduction On December 12, 2005, Dynamite Entertainment announced plans to publish a new Lone Ranger comic book debuting September 2006.i Dynamite engages almost exclusively in the practice of “license farming,” or leasing the rights to pre-sold commercial properties, for its publishing endeavors.ii The company’s other publications include comic books of Battlestar Galactica and Xena: Warrior Princess, both titles based on cult television series. Explaining Dynamite’s reasons for adapting the Lone Ranger, spokesperson J. Allen stated, "After all, The Lone Ranger is THE archetype of the modern superhero, he is THE definition of 'Americana,' a crusader for truth, justice and the American way.”iii What is striking about Allen’s statement is how it simultaneously situates the Lone Ranger as part of American popular culture while ignoring the brand’s value as an entertainment commodity. First created as a radio program by George Trendle in 1933, the Lone Ranger has had a long and established career as a licensed brand, having appeared in almost every media form imaginable, from radio (1933-1955) to television (1949- 1957), film serials (1937, 1938) to major motion pictures (1958, 1981), comic strips (1938-1971), comic books (1940 onwards), cartoons (1966- 1 1969), video games (2003) and a long list of toys and other merchandise. The Lone Ranger brand was particularly successful from the 1930s-1960s. This dissertation investigates how the licensing practices that developed between 1933-1966 have helped shape both the contemporary media climate as well as the continued recognition of the Lone Ranger as a cultural icon. It does so by analyzing the workings of George Trendle and his associates in developing, licensing, managing and marketing the Lone Ranger and Green Hornet brands – not only as popular heroes and American icons, but also as entertainment franchises and enduring name-brand commercial properties. The Green Hornet would not achieve the same financial or cultural acclaim as the Lone Ranger and serves as a useful counterexample in delineating the tensions and struggles involved in transforming licensed brands into cultural icons. How did the Lone Ranger become an American icon? Why did the Green Hornet fail to generate the same appeal? What might an investigation into the pre-conglomeration development of trans-media licensing practices reveal about the differing cultural and economic value of these two brands and about the intermediary role performed their owner and licensor in shaping them? How did Trendle establish