Banner was a native of
Ennis, Texas, and credited his hometown with providing him the opportunity to prepare for his career. In high school he accompanied every singer in town, played in the high school band and was part-time organist in the Presbyterian Church. He credited band director Thomas Granger as the mentor who gave the biggest push to send him on his way. While a junior in high school he assisted Granger in writing and arranging the school Alma Mater, "Maroon and White", that has lasted since 1937. He attended
Southern Methodist University where he arranged for the Mustang Band and the Pigskin Revue, directed Script and Score, and organized his dance band that toured with Interstate Theaters Production of
College Capers, where he met his wife, Alice. He graduated in 1943. After college, he served three years on a destroyer in the
United States Navy on a destroyer conducting radar and sonar duties and became a
Lieutenant (junior grade). He received a masters from the arts department of
Northwestern University in 1948. With only eleven hours needed to obtain his doctorate degree, he opted to leave Northwestern to pursue a television career in New York City. Banner began his career in television in 1948. While pursuing his PhD and teaching radio courses on campus at
Northwestern University, Banner worked evenings in Chicago at local television station
WMAQ as a production assistant on the children's show
Kukla, Fran and Ollie. Advancements came quickly in those early days, and he soon became director of
Garroway at Large, a local show that was picked up by
NBC. In December 1949,
Fred Waring asked Banner to join him at
CBS as producer/director of
The Fred Waring Show. The challenge of working in this new experimental medium proved great enough to lure Bob away from academia. While in New York, Banner also directed
Omnibus, hosted by
Alistair Cooke. The weekly series on
CBS is often credited as the forerunner to television's cultural
PBS network. In the early 1950s, he moved to Los Angeles when the once-experimental medium had matured and was heading west. During the
Golden Age of Television, Banner was one of the prime movers of variety programming.
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, which he produced and directed, garnered myriad awards including three
Emmy Awards, two
Christopher Awards, and two
Peabody Awards. In 1958, he formed Bob Banner Associates (BBA). BBA's first production was
The Garry Moore Show with regulars
Durward Kirby,
Carol Burnett, and
Marion Lorne. The program ran for 218 episodes and won several Emmys, including one for Carol Burnett. In the early 1960s,
Carnegie Hall was targeted for demolition and Bob was asked by Isaac Stern to produce a special to save the cultural landmark.
Salute to Jack Benny at Carnegie Hall starred
Isaac Stern,
Eugene Ormandy and the
Philadelphia Orchestra,
Van Cliburn,
Benny Goodman, and
Roberta Peters. This was quickly followed by another special
Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, starring
Julie Andrews and
Carol Burnett which garnered three Emmys and the International Golden Rose Award.
Almost Anything Goes (adaptation of ''
It's a Knockout) (Bob Banner Associates/ABC,. 1975-76). Regis Philbin was a "field reporter". A Junior Almost Anything Goes'', with
Soupy Sales hosting, in 1976-77 on weekend mornings followed, then a syndicated version with celebrities, “All Star Anything Goes,” in 1977-78 with
Bill Boggs hosting. ==Death==