Bruno Zirato Jr.

Bruno Zirato Jr. ( He was educated at Collegiate School for Boys in New York City and at Duke University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Arts degree.

Zirato chose not to follow in his father's footsteps professionally. "I adored him," the younger Zirato said, "but I couldn't do what he did. I asked him if he knew anyone in broadcast." Radio programs that he produced and/or directed included Stage Struck, The Robert Q. Lewis Show, the Mindy Carson Show, Stepping Out, Sing It Again, The Teddy Wilson Show, The Woolworth Hour, Stage Struck, and The Rayburn and Finch Show. He also directed radio simulcasts of the TV programs Songs for Sale and The Show Goes On.

In 1959 CBS Radio tried to institute an economy measure by transplanting its four remaining dramatic series from Hollywood to New York: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar; Suspense; Gunsmoke; and Have Gun – Will Travel. The plan was finalized in November 1960, when the network kept Gunsmoke in California, discontinued Have Gun – Will Travel, and moved Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense to New York. Bruno Zirato Jr. was chosen to produce and direct the New York programs, and he continued in these capacities until both series ended in 1962.

Television From 1962 to 1977, Before each episode was recorded, he spent a day and a half with the people who would challenge the celebrity panel to determine which one was the actual businessman, politician, etc. The sessions included reviewing the "mechanics of the game" and ensuring that the impostors could "lie with assurance".

Zirato appeared on camera in one memorable episode of To Tell the Truth in 1973, where he stood alongside game-show personalities Peggy Cass and Soupy Sales as one of the three contestants with an interesting story. The affidavit claimed that one of these people had recently judged a world-championship chicken-plucking contest in Spring Hill, Florida. Three panelists questioned the contestants, but two guessed wrong. Only one of the panelists reasoned, with tongue in cheek, that the event's host would not have the money to afford celebrity judges, but could more reasonably invite Zirato. Zirato was indeed the one telling the truth.

Critical comments Jack Gould, critic for The New York Times, complimented Zirato's work with sound on a broadcast of the TV show The Seven Lively Arts. Gould noted that Zirato was brought in to work with the sound on an episode about jazz that featured Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and other artists of that genre. Zirato and Sam Kane, the regular sound engineer, "were treated as full artistic partners" and "were afforded extended rehearsal time in which to achieve maximum aural effectiveness" as they managed more than 20 microphones. Gould contrasted "the vitality and depth of the sound" with the usual situation in which sound was "probably the most neglected aspect of the video art." on September 17, 1949, and they had two children.