Gerald W. Abrams
Encyclopedia
Gerald W. Abrams is an American television producer
and the father of J. J. Abrams
, best known for the large number of TV movies he has produced since the mid-1970s.
as an account executive. He worked his way up through CBS
Television national sales to head the West Coast Sales Department in 1971. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed General Sales Manager of KCBS-TV
, the CBS-owned station in Los Angeles.
In 1973, Abrams joined The Jozak Company as Vice President of Creative Affairs, and segued into his producing career by producing a GE Theater television movie, The Secret Life of John Chapman. While with Jozak, a few of the projects Abrams executive-produced were James Dean, Portrait Of A Friend, Red Alert, the Emmy award
-winning The Defection of Simas Kudirka
, starring Alan Arkin
, and the ABC
series Julie Farr, M.D.
Abrams formed his own company, Cypress Point Productions, in 1978. Through Cypress Point, he executive-produced Flesh & Blood, starring John Cassavetes
and Denzel Washington
, Letters From Frank, starring Art Carney
, The Gift
starring Glenn Ford
, Act Of Love, starring Ron Howard
and Mickey Rourke
, Berlin Tunnel 21, starring Richard Thomas, Marian Rose White, starring Katherine Ross and Valerie Perrine, the CBS series Cutter To Houston, starring Alec Baldwin
, Found Money, starring Dick Van Dyke
and Sid Caesar
, Scorned And Swindled, starring Tuesday Weld
, the Emmy award-winning Florence Nightingale, and A Woman Called Golda, starring Ingrid Bergman
for Operation Primetime.
In addition to his television credits, Abrams was also the executive producer of Hearts Of Fire, a theatrical film for Lorimar, starring Bob Dylan
and Rupert Everett
.
Abrams formed Phoenix Entertainment Group with Gerald Isenberg in July 1985. In February 1989, Phoenix was acquired by The Hearst Corporation and renamed Hearst Entertainment Productions where he served as the Co-Chairman.
Abrams was also the producer of the four-hour miniseries, Monte Carlo, shot entirely on location in France, and executive-producer of A Father's Revenge, for ABC, which was filmed in Berlin, starring Brian Dennehy
and Joanna Cassidy. Also in '89, he executive-produced the two-hour movie for ABC and London Weekend Television
, Jekyll & Hyde, starring Michael Caine
and Cheryl Ladd
, filmed on location in England, which was followed by Daughter Of Darkness, starring Anthony Perkins
, which was filmed in Budapest
, Hungary, for CBS. Abrams also executive produced Family of Spies the five-hour mini-series for CBS starring Powers Boothe
and Lesley Ann Warren for which she was nominated for an Emmy.
Abrams executive produced Black and Blue, based on Pulitzer Prize
winning author Anna Quindlen’s best selling novel, as well as Nuremberg, a four-hour mini-series for Turner Network Television starring Alec Baldwin and Brian Cox, which was nominated for both the Golden Globes and Emmy Awards, and Second Honeymoon starring Roma Downey and Tim Matheson for CBS. Following the critical success of those films, Abrams executive produced the Hallmark Channel
’s A Christmas Visitor.
In 2003, Abrams executive produced 44 Minutes, the FX Network’s highest rated show in its nine-year history as well as the Emmy winning Out of the Ashes for Showtime starring Christine Lahti and directed by Joseph Sargent.
In March 2004, ABC aired The Mystery of Natalie Wood, executive produced by Abrams and based on Suzanne Finstad’s biography of Natalie Wood
. Additionally, Abrams made See Arnold Run with Michael Goldstein about the historic California recall election for A&E. For ESPN in 2005, Abrams produced Four Minutes starring Christopher Plummer
, chronicling Roger Bannister
’s feat of being the first to run one mile in under four minutes, and is developing The Jack Johnson Story a look at the flamboyant life of the world’s first black heavyweight boxing champion.
In 2009, Abrams, alongside James McGrath, his son's father-in-law, had a cameo as a barfly in Star Trek.
winning producer and co-author of Shared Memories. They have two children: Director-producer-screenwriter J.J. Abrams, and Tracy Abrams, a screenwriter who has written TV movies and for series television.
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and the father of J. J. Abrams
J. J. Abrams
Jeffrey Jacob "J. J." Abrams is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, and composer. He wrote and produced feature films before co-creating the television series Felicity...
, best known for the large number of TV movies he has produced since the mid-1970s.
Background
Abrams graduated from Penn State University and began his television career in 1965 with WCBS-TVWCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
as an account executive. He worked his way up through CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Television national sales to head the West Coast Sales Department in 1971. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed General Sales Manager of KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...
, the CBS-owned station in Los Angeles.
In 1973, Abrams joined The Jozak Company as Vice President of Creative Affairs, and segued into his producing career by producing a GE Theater television movie, The Secret Life of John Chapman. While with Jozak, a few of the projects Abrams executive-produced were James Dean, Portrait Of A Friend, Red Alert, the Emmy award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning The Defection of Simas Kudirka
The Defection of Simas Kudirka
The Defection of Simas Kudirka is a 1978 television movie based on actual events, featuring Alan Arkin as Simas Kudirka, a Lithuanian merchant seaman in Soviet-era 1970 who attempts to defect to the United States by jumping onto a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. Among the movie's awards are two Emmys and...
, starring Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
, and the ABC
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
series Julie Farr, M.D.
Julie Farr, M.D.
Julie Farr, M.D. was a short-lived American television show that aired on the ABC network in 1978. It followed three television movies called Having Babies which aired from 1976-78, and was not renewed after its initial run of episodes aired in March-April 1978...
Abrams formed his own company, Cypress Point Productions, in 1978. Through Cypress Point, he executive-produced Flesh & Blood, starring John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
and Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
, Letters From Frank, starring Art Carney
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
, The Gift
The Gift (1979 film)
The Gift is a 1979 made for television film directed by Don Taylor and starring Allison Argo and Kevin Bacon....
starring Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
, Act Of Love, starring Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
and Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
, Berlin Tunnel 21, starring Richard Thomas, Marian Rose White, starring Katherine Ross and Valerie Perrine, the CBS series Cutter To Houston, starring Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
, Found Money, starring Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
and Sid Caesar
Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
, Scorned And Swindled, starring Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
, the Emmy award-winning Florence Nightingale, and A Woman Called Golda, starring Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
for Operation Primetime.
In addition to his television credits, Abrams was also the executive producer of Hearts Of Fire, a theatrical film for Lorimar, starring Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
.
Abrams formed Phoenix Entertainment Group with Gerald Isenberg in July 1985. In February 1989, Phoenix was acquired by The Hearst Corporation and renamed Hearst Entertainment Productions where he served as the Co-Chairman.
Abrams was also the producer of the four-hour miniseries, Monte Carlo, shot entirely on location in France, and executive-producer of A Father's Revenge, for ABC, which was filmed in Berlin, starring Brian Dennehy
Brian Dennehy
Brian Mannion Dennehy is an American actor of film, stage and screen.-Early years:Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Hannah and Edward Dennehy, who was a wire service editor for the Associated Press; he has two brothers, Michael and Edward. Dennehy is of Irish ancestry and was...
and Joanna Cassidy. Also in '89, he executive-produced the two-hour movie for ABC and London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
, Jekyll & Hyde, starring Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
and Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd is an American actress, singer and author. Ladd is best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the television series Charlie's Angels, hired amid a swirl of publicity prior to its second season in 1977 to replace the departing Farrah Fawcett-Majors...
, filmed on location in England, which was followed by Daughter Of Darkness, starring Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
, which was filmed in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary, for CBS. Abrams also executive produced Family of Spies the five-hour mini-series for CBS starring Powers Boothe
Powers Boothe
Powers Allen Boothe is an American television and film actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning 1980 portrayal of Jim Jones and his turn as Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, as well as Vice-President Noah Daniels on 24....
and Lesley Ann Warren for which she was nominated for an Emmy.
Abrams executive produced Black and Blue, based on Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning author Anna Quindlen’s best selling novel, as well as Nuremberg, a four-hour mini-series for Turner Network Television starring Alec Baldwin and Brian Cox, which was nominated for both the Golden Globes and Emmy Awards, and Second Honeymoon starring Roma Downey and Tim Matheson for CBS. Following the critical success of those films, Abrams executive produced the Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
’s A Christmas Visitor.
In 2003, Abrams executive produced 44 Minutes, the FX Network’s highest rated show in its nine-year history as well as the Emmy winning Out of the Ashes for Showtime starring Christine Lahti and directed by Joseph Sargent.
In March 2004, ABC aired The Mystery of Natalie Wood, executive produced by Abrams and based on Suzanne Finstad’s biography of Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
. Additionally, Abrams made See Arnold Run with Michael Goldstein about the historic California recall election for A&E. For ESPN in 2005, Abrams produced Four Minutes starring Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, chronicling Roger Bannister
Roger Bannister
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CBE is an English former athlete best known for running the first recorded mile in less than 4 minutes...
’s feat of being the first to run one mile in under four minutes, and is developing The Jack Johnson Story a look at the flamboyant life of the world’s first black heavyweight boxing champion.
In 2009, Abrams, alongside James McGrath, his son's father-in-law, had a cameo as a barfly in Star Trek.
Personal
Gerald’s wife, Carol Abrams, is a Peabody AwardPeabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
winning producer and co-author of Shared Memories. They have two children: Director-producer-screenwriter J.J. Abrams, and Tracy Abrams, a screenwriter who has written TV movies and for series television.