Frances Buss Buch facts for kids

Frances Buss Buch (June 3, 1917 – January 19, 2010) was a very important person in early television. She was the first female television director in the United States. This means she was the first woman to be in charge of how a TV show was filmed and put together.

Early Life and Career Start

Frances Buss Buch grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She went to Washington University in St. Louis for her education. In the early 1940s, she moved to New York City. There, she took acting classes and performed in some plays.

In July 1941, she got a temporary job at CBS. CBS is a big broadcasting company. She started as a receptionist, answering phones and greeting people.

Joining CBS Television

Just two weeks after the government allowed commercial TV, Frances moved to CBS Television. This was a new and exciting part of CBS. At the time, TV was just starting out.

She worked on CBS Television Quiz. This was one of the very first live TV game shows in the U.S. Frances helped keep score on the show. She told a reporter in 2008 that she had seen TV at the 1939 New York World's Fair. But she didn't know it was already in New York at CBS.

Frances also helped with CBS's TV news coverage. She helped coordinate the news about the attack on Pearl Harbor. This was a very important event in history.

Becoming a Director

Live TV broadcasts were paused in 1942. During this time, Frances started making training films for the U.S. Navy. These films helped teach Navy members important skills.

She returned to CBS in 1944 when live TV started again. In 1945, she was promoted to director. This was a big step for her career. It made her the first female TV director in the country.

Directing Color TV

Frances Buch was a pioneer in color television. On June 25, 1951, she directed the commercials for Premiere. This was the first commercial color TV program ever broadcast in the United States.

Later that same week, she became a producer-director for two new color TV series. These shows were The World is Yours and Modern Homemakers. She also directed Mike and Buff, an early TV talk show. It featured famous journalist Mike Wallace and his wife, Buff Cobb.

Later Life

In 1949, Frances married Bill Buch. They had met in Florida while she was making Navy training films. In 1954, she decided to leave CBS. She wanted to focus on being a full-time homemaker.

Frances Buss Buch passed away on January 19, 2010. She is remembered as a trailblazer in the television industry.