Lindy DeKoven
Encyclopedia
Lindy DeKoven is an American television executive, and executive producer. She achieved success as a television executive with the ability to green-light movies and miniseries
for NBC Television.
DeKoven produced Listen Up!, a comedy series for CBS Television as well as, television pilot
s, miniseries, and made-for-TV movies for networks such as ABC
, CBS
, The CW
, NBC
, and The WB
.
As a television network executive, DeKoven ordered the production of: Merlin, Gulliver’s Travels
, The Odyssey, The Temptations, Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story
, A Woman of Independent Meanshttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112226/, The 60’shttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169528/, The 70’shttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224821/, Asteroid
, Noah's Ark
, The Beast
, Crime & Punishment, Pandora's Clock
, The NBC Monday Night Movie female-teen franchise featuring Beverly Hills, 90210
stars, such as Tori Spelling
, Tiffani Amber Thiessen
, Brian Austin Green
, and Jennie Garth
, which was among the first television programs to feature soundtracks by new artists.
. She worked for such luminaries as Dan Melnick http://www.filmreference.com/film/37/Daniel-Melnick.html, and Frank Yablans
, before becoming an independent TV movie producer with a deal at Mark Carliner Productions http://www.inbaseline.com/company.aspx?company_id=2075824 and later, at ITC Productions.
DeKoven was Director of Network Television Development at Walt Disney Television
, followed by Vice President of Creative Affairs for Alan Landsburg Productions
. She was later hired by Leslie Moonves
at Lorimar Television and then NBC
, where she worked under Don Ohlmeyer
.
In 1991, DeKoven became Vice President, Movies and Miniseries at the Warner Brothers Television
. She was responsible for the development of all long-form projects for network and pay/cable television including the highly rated, Men Don’t Tellhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107553/ and the Emmy Award
winners, Miss Rose White
and O Pioneershttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105038/.
From 1993 to 2001, DeKoven was Executive Vice President of NBC Entertainment and NBC Productions. She was responsible for developing and ordering over 200 movies and miniseries, in addition to managing the in-house production company and a network staff. In 2003, As Executive Producer
, her notable projects included Listen Up!, a situation comedy starring Jason Alexander
for Paramount/CBS, and later the pilot, Mermaids, starring Sela Ward
, for Touchstone/ABC. In 2004, DeKoven joined Paramount/CBS where she was an Executive Producer. Her projects included, the pilots, Bones, The Bobby Knight Show, and Waiting, and the miniseries Sea Creatures for CBS.
DeKoven is featured in Jennifer Siebel Newsom's 2011 documentary feature film, "Miss Representation."
to the California State Film Commission. DeKoven served on the California State Parks & Recreation Commission http://www.parks.ca.gov/ after Clint Eastwood
and Bobby Shriver’s terms had expired. Schwarzenegger re-appointed DeKoven to the California Commission on the Status of Women http://www.women.ca.gov/, where she serves as Chair. She also serves on the Board of the Governor and First Lady’s Women’s Conference of California http://www.californiawomen.org/, as well as the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
.
DeKoven has served on The Board of Directors of the Koreh L.A. Literacy Program http://www.jewishla.org/divisions/koreh_la/Koreh_LA.cfm, as well as the Board of Trustees at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo
Association. She is a past member of the Museum of Television Executive Roundtable, The AFI Second Decade Council, The AFI Women’s Directing Workshop http://www.afi.com/education/dww/ Advisory Committee, Hollywood Radio & Television http://www.hrts.org/ Society Board Member, and Women In Film http://www.wif.org/ Executive Committee.
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
for NBC Television.
DeKoven produced Listen Up!, a comedy series for CBS Television as well as, television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
s, miniseries, and made-for-TV movies for networks such as ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, 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...
, The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, and The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
.
As a television network executive, DeKoven ordered the production of: Merlin, Gulliver’s Travels
Gulliver's Travels (TV miniseries)
Gulliver's Travels is a U.S. TV miniseries based on Jonathan Swift's novel of the same name, produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment. This miniseries is notable for being one of the very few adaptations of Swift's novel to feature all four voyages. The miniseries aired in the...
, The Odyssey, The Temptations, Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story
Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story
Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story is a 1995 American television film on NBC.-Plot:The film recounts the events in the life of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer which led to her retirement from the Washington National Guard under the U.S...
, A Woman of Independent Meanshttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112226/, The 60’shttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169528/, The 70’shttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224821/, Asteroid
Asteroid (film)
Asteroid is a 1997 NBC TV movie about the United States government trying to stop an asteroid colliding with the Earth. It stars Michael Biehn. The movie won the 1997 Emmy Award in category Outstanding Special Visual Effects.-Plot:...
, Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark (1999 film)
Noah's Ark is a 1999 TV Film directed by John Irvin and starring Jon Voight and Mary Steenburgen. The film, as many other related film and television projects, re-tells the Biblical story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis...
, The Beast
The Beast (1996 film)
The Beast is a 1996 made for TV movie starring William Petersen, Karen Sillas and Charles Martin Smith. The movie is based on the 1991 novel Beast by Jaws author Peter Benchley. The film is about a giant squid that attacks and kills several people when its food supply becomes scarce and its...
, Crime & Punishment, Pandora's Clock
Pandora's Clock
Pandora's Clock is a 1996 Television movie based on a novel by John J. Nance about a deadly virus on a Boeing 747-200 from Frankfurt to JFK Airport...
, The NBC Monday Night Movie female-teen franchise featuring Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
stars, such as Tori Spelling
Tori Spelling
Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling is an American actress. Spelling became known in the early 1990s for her role as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210. Spelling then had roles in a string of made-for-television films, such as A Friend to Die For and Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?...
, Tiffani Amber Thiessen
Tiffani Thiessen
Tiffani Thiessen is an American actress best known for her roles as Kelly Kapowski in Saved by the Bell and as Valerie Malone in Beverly Hills, 90210. She is also known for her role on Fastlane as Wilhelmina 'Billie' Chambers...
, Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990 to 2000. Green also starred in the sitcom Freddie and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Since 2009, he has appeared in a recurring...
, and Jennie Garth
Jennie Garth
Jennifer Eve "Jennie" Garth is an American actress and director, best known for starring in the prominent role of Kelly Taylor throughout the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, which was among the first television programs to feature soundtracks by new artists.
Career
DeKoven began her career at CBS Television CityCBS Television City
CBS Television City is a television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of North Fairfax Avenue...
. She worked for such luminaries as Dan Melnick http://www.filmreference.com/film/37/Daniel-Melnick.html, and Frank Yablans
Frank Yablans
Frank Yablans is an American film producer and screenwriter The son of a Brooklyn cab driver and brother to fellow film producer Irwin Yablans, Yablans' first employers in the film business included Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company and Filmways...
, before becoming an independent TV movie producer with a deal at Mark Carliner Productions http://www.inbaseline.com/company.aspx?company_id=2075824 and later, at ITC Productions.
DeKoven was Director of Network Television Development at Walt Disney Television
Walt Disney Television
Walt Disney Television was the former name of the television production division of The Walt Disney Company.-History:It was formed in 1983, as the Walt Disney Pictures Television Division, the name was later shortened to Walt Disney Television in the mid-1980s...
, followed by Vice President of Creative Affairs for Alan Landsburg Productions
Alan Landsburg Productions
Alan Landsburg Productions was an independent TV production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company had huge successes with In Search of... and That's Incredible!, which were two early examples of reality television long before the name even existed...
. She was later hired by Leslie Moonves
Leslie Moonves
Leslie Moonves is President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation.Moonves served as co-president and co-chief operating officer of Viacom, Inc., the predecessor to CBS Corporation, from 2004 until the company split on December 31, 2005...
at Lorimar Television and then NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, where she worked under Don Ohlmeyer
Don Ohlmeyer
Don Ohlmeyer is an American television producer and former president of the NBC network's West Coast division. Currently, Don Ohlmeyer is a Professor of Television Communications at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California...
.
In 1991, DeKoven became Vice President, Movies and Miniseries at the Warner Brothers Television
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
. She was responsible for the development of all long-form projects for network and pay/cable television including the highly rated, Men Don’t Tellhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107553/ and 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...
winners, Miss Rose White
Miss Rose White
Miss Rose White is a television film adaptation of the Barbara Lebow play, A Shayna Maidel, starring Kyra Sedgwick. It first aired on April 26, 1992...
and O Pioneershttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105038/.
From 1993 to 2001, DeKoven was Executive Vice President of NBC Entertainment and NBC Productions. She was responsible for developing and ordering over 200 movies and miniseries, in addition to managing the in-house production company and a network staff. In 2003, As Executive Producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, her notable projects included Listen Up!, a situation comedy starring Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
for Paramount/CBS, and later the pilot, Mermaids, starring Sela Ward
Sela Ward
Sela Ann Ward is an American movie and television actress, perhaps best known for her television roles as Teddy Reed on the American TV series Sisters and as Lily Manning on Once and Again...
, for Touchstone/ABC. In 2004, DeKoven joined Paramount/CBS where she was an Executive Producer. Her projects included, the pilots, Bones, The Bobby Knight Show, and Waiting, and the miniseries Sea Creatures for CBS.
DeKoven is featured in Jennifer Siebel Newsom's 2011 documentary feature film, "Miss Representation."
Political appointments
In 2011, DeKoven was appointed by Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
to the California State Film Commission. DeKoven served on the California State Parks & Recreation Commission http://www.parks.ca.gov/ after Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
and Bobby Shriver’s terms had expired. Schwarzenegger re-appointed DeKoven to the California Commission on the Status of Women http://www.women.ca.gov/, where she serves as Chair. She also serves on the Board of the Governor and First Lady’s Women’s Conference of California http://www.californiawomen.org/, as well as the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society , founded in 1949, is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of...
.
DeKoven has served on The Board of Directors of the Koreh L.A. Literacy Program http://www.jewishla.org/divisions/koreh_la/Koreh_LA.cfm, as well as the Board of Trustees at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo
Los Angeles Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo , is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The City of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals...
Association. She is a past member of the Museum of Television Executive Roundtable, The AFI Second Decade Council, The AFI Women’s Directing Workshop http://www.afi.com/education/dww/ Advisory Committee, Hollywood Radio & Television http://www.hrts.org/ Society Board Member, and Women In Film http://www.wif.org/ Executive Committee.
Honors and awards
- Emmy Award: Best Miniseries Gulliver’s Travels
- National Education Association: Advancement of Learning Through Broadcasting Award: Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer StoryServing in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer StoryServing in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story is a 1995 American television film on NBC.-Plot:The film recounts the events in the life of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer which led to her retirement from the Washington National Guard under the U.S...
- GLAAD Award: Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer StoryServing in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer StoryServing in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story is a 1995 American television film on NBC.-Plot:The film recounts the events in the life of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer which led to her retirement from the Washington National Guard under the U.S...
- Academy of TV Arts and Sciences: Development and Service Award
- Retinitis Pigmentosa Vision Award: “Lindy DeKoven Woman of Vision Award”
- Entertainment Industries Council Prism Award: “The Accident”
TV movies and miniseries
- AsteroidAsteroid (film)Asteroid is a 1997 NBC TV movie about the United States government trying to stop an asteroid colliding with the Earth. It stars Michael Biehn. The movie won the 1997 Emmy Award in category Outstanding Special Visual Effects.-Plot:...
- The BeastThe Beast (1996 film)The Beast is a 1996 made for TV movie starring William Petersen, Karen Sillas and Charles Martin Smith. The movie is based on the 1991 novel Beast by Jaws author Peter Benchley. The film is about a giant squid that attacks and kills several people when its food supply becomes scarce and its...
- Crime & Punishment
- Gulliver’s TravelsGulliver's Travels (TV miniseries)Gulliver's Travels is a U.S. TV miniseries based on Jonathan Swift's novel of the same name, produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment. This miniseries is notable for being one of the very few adaptations of Swift's novel to feature all four voyages. The miniseries aired in the...
- Merlin
- Miss Rose WhiteMiss Rose WhiteMiss Rose White is a television film adaptation of the Barbara Lebow play, A Shayna Maidel, starring Kyra Sedgwick. It first aired on April 26, 1992...
- Noah's ArkNoah's Ark (1999 film)Noah's Ark is a 1999 TV Film directed by John Irvin and starring Jon Voight and Mary Steenburgen. The film, as many other related film and television projects, re-tells the Biblical story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis...
- The Odyssey
- Pandora's ClockPandora's ClockPandora's Clock is a 1996 Television movie based on a novel by John J. Nance about a deadly virus on a Boeing 747-200 from Frankfurt to JFK Airport...
- The Temptations
- Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer StoryServing in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer StoryServing in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story is a 1995 American television film on NBC.-Plot:The film recounts the events in the life of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer which led to her retirement from the Washington National Guard under the U.S...
- Sea Creatures
- A Woman of Independent Meanshttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112226/
- The 60'shttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169528/
- The 70'shttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0224821/
- O Pioneershttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105038/
- Men Don’t Tellhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107553/
Episodic television
- Listen Up! – series, CBS Executive producer
- Sweet Potato Queenshttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0896979/ – Executive producer, pilot The WB
- Waiting pilot – Executive Producer, CBS
- The Bobby Knight Show – Executive producer, pilot CBS
- Mermaids, pilot ABC
External links
- Lindy DeKoven http://www.thewrap.com/tv/blog-post/we-gave-meaning-word-broadcast-31014
- Lindy DeKoven http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1785863/ at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Lindy DeKoven http://www.film.com/celebrities/lindy-dekoven/14838441 at Film.com
- Lindy DeKoven http://www.totalcapitol.com/?people_id=7983 at TotalCapitol - Californina Politics and People
- Lindy DeKoven http://www.women.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=818 at the California Women’s Commission
- Lindy DeKoven in The Movie Business Bookhttp://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Movie-Business-Book/Jason-E-Squire/e/9780743219372 By Jason E. Squire
- Lindy DeKoven http://www.qrd.org/qrd/orgs/GLAAD/old/la/1993/glaad-LA-9.93 in GLADD/LA Reports
- Lindy DeKoven http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500EEDF103BF933A25751C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all in the New York Times