The Rob Dennis Show Collection (MS-576)
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of 157 episodes of The Rob Dennis Show, a late-night talk show filmed in Dayton, Ohio. This is a nearly comprehensive set, dating from 2009 to 2016, and including almost every episode from Episode 1 through Episode 165, which dates to just a month prior to Mr. Wright’s death.
Each episode typically featured at least one guest from the Dayton community and musical performances by either the house band (Lenny Davis’s band Stargate) or by a guest musician/group. A few recurrent themes among the guests included public figures, such as mayors, commissioners, and other local elected office-holders (Gary Leitzell, Nan Whaley, Rhine McLin, Paul Leonard, etc.); representatives of cultural institutions (especially Boonshoft Museum of Discovery); and fellow broadcast personalities (Jim Bucher, Tara Hastings, Brooke Moore, Marsha Bonhart, etc.).
Each recording in the collection is approximately 1 hour in length, and it includes the commercials that aired during the show as well. Archives staff indexed basic information about each episode, including guests, musical performers, and subjects discussed. While a brief summary of this information is listed in this finding aid, a more detailed version is available as part of the Preservation Descriptive Information (PDI) stored with each e-item.
Dates
- Creation: 2009 Sept - 2016 Aug
Creator
- Wright, Dennis Lee, 1944-2016 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no donor-imposed restrictions on accessing this collection. All electronic records (indicated by an e-number, e.g., ms576_e0001) listed in this finding aid are processed; however, researchers are requested to contact us at least two (2) days in advance to request electronic records. Access to the original electronic media (DVD) is restricted.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. The donor of the physical property, Dale Grow, was not the program’s copyright holder. According to Grow, the intellectual property rights of the program belonged to Rob Dennis (Dennis L. Wright), the show’s producer and host, though this has not been verified. Most of the videos do include “©WROB Productions” as part of the footage. However, the intellectual property rights interests in this collection have neither been transferred to Wright State University nor dedicated to the public. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Dennis Lee Wright, aka Robbie Dennis Wright, aka “Rob Dennis,” was born May 10, 1944, probably in Dayton, Ohio, to Donald Lynn Wright and Bonnie I. “Yvonne” (Clarke) Wright. He had an older sister Donna Rae (Wright) Sullivan (1938-2012) and four nephews: Donald, Kris, John, and Ray Sullivan. Mr. Wright lived for many years at 19 S. Cherrywood Avenue in East Dayton. He died September 26, 2016.
Dennis L. Wright, aka “Rob Dennis,” hosted The Rob Dennis Show, a late-night talk show filmed in Dayton, Ohio, at DATV Studios, from 2009 to 2016. It aired on Dayton channel 5 on Sundays at 10 p.m. and Tuesdays at 10 a.m., as well as on channels 991, 6, and 23. Mr. Wright was the writer, producer, and star of the show. It was directed by Ron Mooney and associate producers Robin Fuson, Lenny Davis, and Doug Brand. In addition to Wright, Cathy Peterson, Suzi Goedde, and others were the show’s co-hosts. Each episode typically featured at least one guest from the Dayton community and musical performances by either the house band (Lenny Davis’s band Stargate) or by a guest musician/group.
Extent
1 linear feet (physical DVDs (to which access is restricted))
425 Gigabytes (processed amount; 157 videos (ms576_e0001 through ms576_e0157))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection consists of 157 episodes of The Rob Dennis Show, a late-night talk show filmed in Dayton, Ohio, at DATV Studios, from 2009 to 2016. Dennis L. Wright, aka “Rob Dennis,” was the writer, producer, and star of the show. Each episode typically featured guests from the Dayton community and musical performances. A few recurrent themes among the guests included public figures, representatives of cultural institutions, and fellow broadcast personalities.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in a single series of videos in chronological (episode number) order.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Electronic files require the use of appropriate computer hardware and software. File formats include MP4 (access copy video), VOB (original video), and DOCX (indexing information created by archives staff).
Custodial History
According to Dale Grow, Mr. Wright’s nephew John Sullivan brought the DVDs to Grow, shortly after Mr. Wright’s death, and said that his uncle wanted Grow to have them.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The physical property was donated to Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries, by Dale Grow, of Dayton Access Television (DATV), in December 2016.
Existence and Location of Copies
Clips from some of the episodes can be found on the Rob Dennis YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4BJdTWzVUwtzLWU9LKo8-A.
Separated Materials
The original DVDs are stored in the E-Archive.
Processing Information
The collection was originally received on several video DVDs (one per episode). Duke Data Accessioner was used to capture a preservation master copy of all files (*.VOB etc.). An access copy (*.MP4) was also generated using Handbrake. The videos were indexed by Delaney Dawson and Jody Montgomery in 2020.
Subject
- Wright, Dennis Lee, 1944-2016 (Person)
- Stargate (Musical group) (Organization)
- Davis, Lenny, 1936-2022 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the The Rob Dennis Show Collection (MS-576)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Lisa Rickey
- Date
- 2021 Feb 10
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
