LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Legendary television executive, Fred Silverman, has passed away at the age of 82.
Silverman, who was the only TV executive to steer programming for each of the Big Three broadcast networks, died Thursday (Jan. 30) at his home in the Pacific Palisades following a battle with cancer, according to family spokesperson Julia Rosen.
Over the course of his 30 plus year career in television, Silverman was responsible for the success of a number of widely loved TV sitcoms. As VP Programming at CBS, Silverman brought the network such hits as “Petticoat Junction,” “Green Acres,” “All in the Family,” “M*A*S*H,” “Kojak,” “The Waltons,” “The Jeffersons,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour,” and the animated “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!,” while as ABC’s entertainment chief, his contributions included “Roots,” “Rich Man, Poor Man,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Love Boat,” “Three’s Company,” “The Bionic Woman,” and “Good Morning America,” among others. Though his hit ratio diminished when he made the move to NBC in the late 1970s (“Diff’rent Strokes” was an exception), Silverman’s impact on the television industry remains incalculable.
After parting ways with NBC in 1981, he went on to form his own TV production company whose credits included “Matlock,” “Jake and the Fatman,” and “Diagnosis: Murder.”
Silverman was inducted into The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 1999.
He is survived by his wife, Cathy; their children Melissa and Billy; and his daughter-in-law, Anna.
