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George "Draper" Lewis, Jr (February 16, 1919 - January 4, 1998) was a prolific radio and TV writer. Lewis joined the CBS Radio Network in 1939 as a staff writer, and during World War II he worked as a radio producer-director-writer for the U.S. Army Air Corps. Following the war, Lewis rejoined CBS before moving over to NBC, where he wrote for “The Camel Caravan.” The life of this person has been researched by Esther Newton for her essay: "Cherry Grove, Fire Island", published by Duke University Press.
He was born on Feb. 16, 1919, to Jessie Tinsely and George Lewis in Philadelphia. He was a producer, director and writer for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, putting on shows for the troops.
In 1950, Lewis moved into television, joining the writing staff of “The Arthur Godfrey Show.” During the mid-1950s, Lewis wrote for the NBC show “Coke Time With Eddie Fisher.” In 1960, he joined Henry Jaffe Prods. as a writer on the “Bell Telephone Hour.” Two years later, he joined David Wolper Prods. as a producer-director-writer on “Biography,” “Men in Crisis” and “Hollywood and the Stars.” Joining Chuck Barris Prods. in 1965, he wrote for “The Dating Game.”
During the 1970s, he wrote and produced the pilot “That’s Hollywood” and a subsequent 15 segments of that series. Lewis also served as a producer-writer for “Those Amazing Animals” and “That’s Incredible!” for Alan Landsburg Prods. In the 1980s he was a write for the TV Series "Fame".
More recently, he was active in workshops and seminars on the history of movies and television sitcoms.
He died January 4, 1998, of natural causes in Palm Desert. He was 89.
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