All Topics  
Fred Silverman

 
Fred Silverman

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Fred Silverman



 
 
Fred Silverman (born September 13, 1937 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 executive and producer. He worked as an executive at CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
, ABC and NBC, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo is a long-running Television in the United States animated television series produced for Saturday morning cartoon in several different versions from 1969 to the present....
 (1969-present), All in the Family
All in the Family

All in the Family is an United States situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979....
 (1971-1979), The Waltons
The Waltons

The Waltons is an United States television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 Spencer's Mountain, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara....
 (1972-1981), and Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels is a Television program about three women who work for a private investigator agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men....
 (1976-1981), as well as the miniseries Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)

Roots is a 1977 in television American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's work Roots: The Saga of an American Family.Roots received 37 Emmy Award nominations....
 (1977) and Shogun (1980)
Shogun (TV miniseries)

Shogun is an United States television miniseries based on the namesake Shogun by James Clavell. The miniseries was broadcast over five nights, between September 15 and September 19, 1980 on NBC in the United States....
.

erman graduated from Syracuse University
Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, New York. It was founded as a university in 1870, but its roots can be traced back to a seminary founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832 which eventually became Genesee College....
 and then earned a Master's degree from the Ohio State University
Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is a public university research university in the state of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
 and went to work for WGN-TV
WGN-TV

WGN-TV, channel 9, is a television station in Chicago, Illinois. It has been owned by the Tribune Company since its inception, and is an affiliate of the CW Television Network....
 in Chicago, Illinois overseeing children's programming and at WPIX
WPIX

WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City. It has been owned by the Tribune Company since its inception, and serves as the flagship station of the The CW Television Network....
 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Fred Silverman'
Start a new discussion about 'Fred Silverman'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Fred Silverman (born September 13, 1937 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 executive and producer. He worked as an executive at CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
, ABC and NBC, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo is a long-running Television in the United States animated television series produced for Saturday morning cartoon in several different versions from 1969 to the present....
 (1969-present), All in the Family
All in the Family

All in the Family is an United States situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979....
 (1971-1979), The Waltons
The Waltons

The Waltons is an United States television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 Spencer's Mountain, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara....
 (1972-1981), and Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels is a Television program about three women who work for a private investigator agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men....
 (1976-1981), as well as the miniseries Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)

Roots is a 1977 in television American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's work Roots: The Saga of an American Family.Roots received 37 Emmy Award nominations....
 (1977) and Shogun (1980)
Shogun (TV miniseries)

Shogun is an United States television miniseries based on the namesake Shogun by James Clavell. The miniseries was broadcast over five nights, between September 15 and September 19, 1980 on NBC in the United States....
.

Biography


Earliy life and career

Silverman graduated from Syracuse University
Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, New York. It was founded as a university in 1870, but its roots can be traced back to a seminary founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832 which eventually became Genesee College....
 and then earned a Master's degree from the Ohio State University
Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is a public university research university in the state of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
 and went to work for WGN-TV
WGN-TV

WGN-TV, channel 9, is a television station in Chicago, Illinois. It has been owned by the Tribune Company since its inception, and is an affiliate of the CW Television Network....
 in Chicago, Illinois overseeing children's programming and at WPIX
WPIX

WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City. It has been owned by the Tribune Company since its inception, and serves as the flagship station of the The CW Television Network....
 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
. His masters thesis analyzed 10 years of ABC programming and was so good it got him hired as an executive at CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
 at the age of 25 in 1963. He soon moved to CBS and took over responsibility for daytime programming and later, took charge of all of entertainment programming, day and night. Silverman married his assistant, Cathy Kihn, and they had a daughter, Melissa.

CBS

In 1970. Silverman was promoted from vice-president of program planning and development to head the entire program department at CBS. Silverman was the chief architect of the "rural purge
Rural purge

The "Rural Purge" of American television networks was a series of cancellations in 1971, of still popular rural-themed shows and shows with senior citizen skewed audiences....
" of 1971, which eventually eliminated many popular country-oriented shows, such as Green Acres
Green Acres

Green Acres is an United States television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a farm in the country....
, Mayberry R.F.D., Hee Haw
Hee Haw

Hee Haw was a television variety show, initially co-hosted by musicians Buck Owens and Roy Clark and featuring country music and humor with fictional, rural "Kornfield Kounty" as a backdrop....
 and The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies

The Beverly Hillbillies is an United States television series about a hillbilly family transplanted to Beverly Hills, California after finding oil on their land....
 from the CBS schedule. In their place, however, came a new wave of classics aimed at the upscale baby boomer generation, such as All in the Family
All in the Family

All in the Family is an United States situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979....
, Mary Tyler Moore
The Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an United States television Situation comedy created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977....
, M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H (TV series)

M*A*S*H is an United States television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 in film feature film MASH . The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced by 20th Television Fox for CBS....
, the Waltons
The Waltons

The Waltons is an United States television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 Spencer's Mountain, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara....
, Cannon
Cannon (TV series)

Cannon is a detective fiction television series which ran on CBS from 1971 to 1976. It starred William Conrad as the overweight detective Frank Cannon, who had resigned from the LAPD and become a private detective....
, Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones

Barnaby Jones is a television detective fiction television series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father and daughter-in-law, who are also both private investigators in Los Angeles, which ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 in television to April 3, 1980 in television, as a midseason replacement, which bumped the long-running dete...
, Kojak
Kojak

Kojak refers to two separate but related United States Crime drama television series, with the original airing on CBS and the second series airing on USA Network....
 and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

Silverman had an uncanny ability to spot burgeoning hit material, especially in the form of spin-offs
Spin-off (media)

Media spin-off is the process of deriving new radio programs, television programs or video games or even novels from already existing ones. Spin-offs work with varying degrees of success....
, new TV series developed with characters that appeared on an existing series. For example, he spun-off Maude
Maude (TV series)

Maude is a half-hour United States television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978....
 and The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons is an United States situation comedy that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of List of The Jeffersons episodes produced by Tandem Productions from 1975-1982 and Embassy Television from 1982-1985....
 from All in the Family
All in the Family

All in the Family is an United States situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979....
, and Rhoda
Rhoda

Rhoda is an United States Situation comedy starring Valerie Harper. It was a list of television spin-offs from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and ran for five seasons between 1974-1978....
 from Mary Tyler Moore
The Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an United States television Situation comedy created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977....
 (as well as The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show

The Bob Newhart Show is the name of two different television series, both starring comedian Bob Newhart. The better-known is a situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired on CBS from September 16, to April 1, ....
 from MTM's
The Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an United States television Situation comedy created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977....
 writers). In early 1974, Silverman ordered a Maude spin-off titled Good Times
Good Times

Good Times is a United States Situation comedy that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network....
; that show's success led Silverman to schedule it against ABC's new hit, Happy Days
Happy Days

Happy Days is an Television in the United States television sitcom that originally aired from 1974 in television to 1984 in television on American Broadcasting Company....
, the following fall.

Move to ABC

However, he was named president of ABC in 1975, putting him in the awkward position of saving Happy Days. Silverman, however, would bring Happy Days to the top of the ratings and generate two hit spin-offs from that show, Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley

Laverne & Shirley was an United States television series situation comedy that ran on American Broadcasting Company from 1976 to 1983. It starred Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, roommates who, as the series began, worked in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin brewery....
 and Mork & Mindy.

At ABC, Silverman also greenlit
Greenlight

To greenlight a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the Film industry and Television programs#Development businesses, to greenlight something is to formally approve its Film production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development to pre-production and pri...
 other popular shows such as The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman

The Bionic Woman is an United States Television program which spin-off from The Six Million Dollar Man. It starred Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers , a tennis professional who was nearly killed in a Parachuting accident, and was rebuilt by Oscar Goldman and Dr....
 (a Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man is an United States television series about a fictional cyborg working for the OSI . The show was based on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, and during pre-production, that was the proposed title of the series....
 spin-off), Family
Family (TV series)

Family is a television drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company from 1976 in television to 1980 in television. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols....
, Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels is a Television program about three women who work for a private investigator agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men....
, Donny and Marie, Three's Company
Three's Company

Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from 1977 in television to 1984 in television on American Broadcasting Company. It is a remake of the British sitcom Man About the House....
, Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough

Eight Is Enough is an United States television comedy-drama series which ran on American Broadcasting Company from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981....
, The Love Boat
The Love Boat

The Love Boat is an United States television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the American Broadcasting Company from 1977 in television until 1986 in television....
, Soap
Soap (TV series)

Soap is an American sitcom that originally ran on American Broadcasting Company from 1977 to 1981.The show was created as a parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour long primetime comedy....
, and Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island

Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related United States fantasy television series, both originally airing on the American Broadcasting Company television network....
. These moves brought ABC's long-dormant ratings from third place to first place. Silverman was criticized for bringing T&A or "jiggle TV" to the small screen with numerous ABC shows featuring buxom attractive (or scantily clad) young women. Despite the roster of hits, there were infamous misfires like Blansky's Beauties
Blansky's Beauties

Blansky's Beauties is an American Situation comedy which aired on the American Broadcasting Company network in 1977. The series was a Spin-off of Happy Days....
 and Tabitha
Tabitha (TV series)

Tabitha was a short lived United States fantasy sitcom that aired during the 1977-1978 season on American Broadcasting Company. It was a spin-off of Bewitched, which had ended its run several years earlier....
 and Brady Bunch Hour - all examples of attractive young women featured in Silverman greenlit spinoffs of previous hits: Happy Days and Bewitched and The Brady Bunch.

Move to NBC

Although Silverman's tenure at ABC was very successful, he left to become President and CEO of NBC in 1978. His 3-year tenure at NBC proved to be a difficult period, one marked by low ratings in prime time and failures of many of the shows he conceived. Nevertheless, there were high points, including the launch of the critically-lauded Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues is a serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. It is currently being aired on AmericanLife TV Network on Sunday nights in the United States, and on weekday afternoons on digital network More 4 in the United Kingdom....
 (1981) and The David Letterman Show
The David Letterman Show

The David Letterman Show was a live morning NBC talk show hosted by David Letterman every weekday from June 23 to October 24, 1980....
 (daytime, 1980), which would lead to Letterman's successful late night program
Late Night with David Letterman

Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 in television and went off the air in 1993 in television, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show with David Letterman on CBS....
 in 1982. Wisely, Silverman had Letterman in a holding deal after the morning show which kept the unemployed Letterman from going to another network. Silverman also developed successful comedies such as Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes

Diff'rent Strokes is an United States television program that aired on the National Broadcasting Company television network from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on American Broadcasting Company from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986....
, The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life (TV series)

The Facts of Life is an United States sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to September 13, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' original premise focused on the character, Edna Garrett , as she becomes housemother to seven girls at the fictional Eastland School, a pres...
, and Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break!

Gimme a Break! is an United States sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981 until May 12, 1987. It starred Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters....
, and made the series commitments that led to Cheers
Cheers

Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC, having been created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles....
 and St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere is a U.S. drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End, Boston, Massachusetts....
. Silverman also pioneered entertainment reality programming with the 1979 launch of Real People
Real People

Real People was an NBC reality television series that aired from 1979 in television to 1984 in television, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights....
.

In other areas of NBC, Silverman revitalized the news division
NBC News

NBC News is the news division of United States television network NBC, a part of NBC Universal, which is majority-owned by General Electric. Its current president is Steve Capus....
, which resulted in Today and NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News

NBC Nightly News is the daily evening news program for NBC News and broadcasts from the GE Building, Rockefeller Center in New York City. It has been known by this name since August 3, 1970....
 achieving parity with their competition for the first time in years. He created a new FM Radio Division, with competitive full-service stations in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington. During his NBC tenure, Silverman also brought in an entirely new divisional and corporate management, a team that stayed in place long after Silverman's departure. (Among this group was a new Entertainment President, Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff

'Brandon Tartikoff' was a television executive who was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as Hill Street Blues, L.A....
.) Silverman also reintroduced the peacock as NBC's corporate logo.

Foundation of The Fred Silverman Company

In 1981, Silverman left NBC and formed The Fred Silverman Company (formerly Intermedia Entertainment) to produce shows to sell to television. The company would generate several hits including the Perry Mason TV movie series
Perry Mason

Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense Lawyer who originally was the main character in numerous pieces of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner....
 (1985-1994) Matlock
Matlock (TV series)

Matlock is a long-running United States television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role. The show ran from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced the long-running series The A-Team to Friday nights, then on November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on American Broadcasting Company....
 (1986-1995), Jake and the Fatman
Jake and the Fatman

Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles....
 (1987-1992) In the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night (TV series)

'In the Heat of the Night' is a television series based on the Film In the Heat of the Night . The series debuted as a midseason replacement for the short-lived NBC series J.J....
 (1988-1994) Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries

Father Dowling Mysteries is an United States television Mystery fiction series that appeared between November 30, 1987 and May 2, 1991. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to American Broadcasting Company Television network for its last two seasons....
(1989-92), and Diagnosis Murder (1993-2001). Most of these continue to run in syndication.

During the game-show revival that followed the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)

In the United States, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is a television reality television/game show which offers a maximum prize of United States dollar1,000,000 for correctly answering 15 successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty....
, Silverman resurrected 50s game show Twenty One
Twenty One

Twenty One may refer to:*Twenty One *Twenty One *The card game also known as Blackjack...
 for NBC in 2000. A few years later, he returned to ABC in an advisory capacity.

External links