Aaron Spelling
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Aaron F. Spelling (April 22, 1923 – June 23, 2006) was a American film and television producer.
He holds the world record as the world's most prolific television producer. http://www.guinnessworldrecord.com/local/content_pages/eng_record.asp?recordid=51566
Biography
Born in Dallas, Texas, to Polish Jewish immigrant parents, Spelling attended Forest Avenue High School. After serving with the United States Army Air Forces, he attended Southern Methodist University, graduating in 1949.He went to New York and found some work as an actor. In total he played screen parts in 22 programs (in several shows a few episodes; none of his flagships, perhaps the best known being Gunsmoke) between 1956 and 1997.
He married actress Carolyn Jones, in 1953, and they moved to California. He had his break as a writer, selling his first script to Jane Wyman Theater in 1954. He went on to write for Dick Powell, Playhouse 90, and Last Man, amongst others. He joined Powell's Four Star Productions. After Powell's death he formed Thomas-Spelling Productions with Danny Thomas. Their first hit was The Mod Squad. In total he wrote for 14 productions between 1957 and 1974, again including several series with multiple episodes on his credit.
He directed only once: The Conchita Vasquez Story, a 1959 TV Episode of "Wagon Train" (for which show he write the script of three other episodes, but not produced by him) ... aka Major Adams, Trail Master.
In 1972, he created Aaron Spelling Productions and another co-production company with Leonard Goldberg. His company went public in 1986 as Spelling Entertainment.
Spelling divorced Jones in 1965 and in 1968 he married Carol Jean Marer (Candy Spelling). He was father of Victoria Davey Spelling and Randall Gene Spelling, both of whom became actors as teenagers, as Tori Spelling and Randy Spelling, mainly appearing in several of their father's productions, perhaps most famously both of them in "Beverly Hills, 90210". The home named "The Manor" he built for $47M in the Holmby Hills neighborhood is the largest single-family dwelling in Hollywood.http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=50069
Spelling also produced the NBC daytime soap opera Sunset Beach from 1997 to 1999, and in one of his few acting roles since the 60's, played one of Bette's (Kathleen Noone) ex-husbands for one day in 1997. He also appeared as himself on 27 programs between 1992 and 2005. After 2000, Spelling rarely gave serious interviews, and control of the Spelling Television company has been largely steered by his business partner E. Duke Vincent and the company's president, Jonathan Levin.
In 2004 Spelling was portrayed by Dan Castellaneta in the NBC film .
On January 28, 2006, Spelling was sued by his former nurse who seeks unspecified damages for ten claims, including sexual harassment and discrimination, retaliation, sexual battery (for making "contact with the plaintiff's intimate parts"), assault, wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,18240,00.html
In 2001, Spelling was diagnosed with oral cancer.http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_174230624.html On June 18, 2006, Spelling suffered a severe stroke at his estate in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. Reportedly, estranged daughter Tori Spelling reconciled with her father shortly before he fell ill. He died there five days later on June 23, 2006, from complications of the stroke at age 83. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/24/arts/television/24spelling.html The public was not allowed to attend Spelling's funeral held several days after his death.
Productions
Spelling worked in some capacity on almost 200 productions beginning with the Zane Grey Theatre in 1956. His most recognizable contributions to television include Beverly Hills 90210 and its adult spin-off Melrose Place, Starsky and Hutch, Charmed, Family, Hotel, Daniel Boone, The Rookies, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Vega$, Hart to Hart, Dynasty, The Colbys, T.J. Hooker, Nightingales, Twin Peaks, , 7th Heaven, Burke's law, Honey West, The Mod Squad and Vega$. He also produced the NBC TV series Titans with Yasmine Bleeth in 2000 and Summerland in 2005.Despite his many accomplishments in life, Spelling continued to emphasize that his favorite project of all time was 7th Heaven. He reportedly claimed that the success of this "little drama that could," and the fact that it had been the WB's most-watched series since 1998, was beyond belief to him.
External links
- [Aaron Spelling at TVRage.com]
- [Spelling's final print interview, conducted September 2004, with The Sydney Morning Herald]
References
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