The Two-Edged Legacy of Brandon Tartikoff
by The Vidiots - August 29, 1997
Brandon Tartikoff died Wednesday at the age of 48. If you've forgotten him,
he used to be the big kahuna of programming at NBC during the 1980s.
Now, a lot of people will eulogize Mr. Tartikoff with words like "genius"
or "visionary." But when we think of him, we can't help but also think that
he was the foundation of our wasted youth. He was the man who gave us
Knight Rider, a show about a guy who worked with a talking car to right
wrongs that us ordinary people can't. And then there was The A-Team, the
show he premiered on a Super Bowl Sunday about a crack group of commandos
who right the wrongs that the proper authorities couldn't handle. Or
Voyagers!, a show about a couple guys who travel through time doing good
deeds and solving problems that figures of history couldn't handle. And of
course, he gave us Manimal, a show nobody could handle.
When we think of all the homework assignments we never finished, we blame
Brandon Tartikoff. When a certain member of our group recalls all the
embarrassment he suffered after he decided to get that blasted mohawk like
Mr. T, he blames Brandon Tartikoff. When we think of the time we thought we
could carry off the Miami Vice look, we blame Brandon Tartikoff.
And yet despite all of the crud he fed our young minds, we find ourselves
wanting to thank him. To thank him for shows like Cheers, Hill Street
Blues, St. Elsewhere, and L.A. Law. True, he didn't create any of those
shows -- or any of the other shows we mentioned above -- but he was the one
who allowed them on the air, and stuck with them until they found
audiences. Without him those shows wouldn't have survived.
Tartikoff's genius, if you want to call it that, was that he recognized
that while America certainly loves its crap, there's also actually an
audience for good stuff. The key is that you have to be patient and wait to
find that audience, a concept lost on all the microencephalic TV executives
(hello, Fred Silverman) that came before him. We can say with some
assurance that without Tartikoff, we wouldn't have ER, or Homicide, or NYPD
Blue.
Let's also not forget another Tartikoff contribution: He was one of the men
who made black people commonplace on TV. Though it's difficult to believe
in this era of Fox, UPN and The WB's urban-themed schedules, blacks were
almost non-existent on TV unless they were criminals or domestics. But
thanks to the success of Cosby and other shows Tartikoff green-lighted, we
got to see black lawyers, doctors, cops, teachers, and college students.
Granted, Tartikoff might have been motivated by what was clearly an
untapped market for television -- but the changes he wrought were
monumental just the same.
So, yes, we honestly and unabashedly salute the same man who set Misfits of
Science loose upon the world. Brandon Tartikoff inherited a TV world filled
with nothing but crap. When he left it, it was still mostly crap -- but if
you looked hard enough, you could find quality amid the crap.
You might not find that an important legacy, but we do. Brandon Tartikoff
had enough faith in TV viewers that he knew if his network put good shows
on the air, people would find them, fall in love with them, and support
them. He had faith that not everyone wants to watch tits-and-ass
extravaganzas -- at least, not all the time.
He left his arena a better place than when he entered it. As we see it,
that's a life well lived. And one worth remembering.
http://www.teevee.org/archive/1997/08/29/
LOS ANGELES (Reuter) - Brandon Tartikoff, the programming whiz who
transformed NBC into a television powerhouse, died Wednesday after a
lengthy battle with cancer. He was 48.
Tartikoff developed NBC into the top-rated network in the 1980s with
innovative shows such as "Hill Street Blues", "Cheers", "L.A. Law" and
"Family Ties".
A spokeswoman at UCLA Medical Center said Tartikoff died of complications
resulting from treatment for Hodgkins disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes.
Tartikoff was diagnosed with Hodgkins at the age of 23 but managed to keep
his illness a secret from the public because he did not want it to take
away from his efforts at NBC.
In January, Tartikoff told Variety columnist Army Archerd he was undergoing
treatment for his third recurrence of the disease.
"Back in l981 I had my first recurrence," Tartikoff said. "I was president
of NBC, and while I was supported strongly by (NBC head) Grant Tinker, I
did not think it wise, in my position, with a network which was not doing
very well, to divulge my illness.
"Also, I was not very visible in that high position. So I felt I should
keep it to myself.
In a statement, former "Today Show" host Bryant Gumbel, said Tartikoff was
a visionary leader.
"Although he made others famous, Brandon was a real TV star," Gumbel said.
"His legacy of quality programming speaks for itself. To all who knew
Brandon, today's loss is painful."
"Hill Street Blues" creator Steve Bochco said, "I am heartsick over the
loss, and (wife) Barbara and I send our deepest condolences to (Tartikoff's
widow) Lilly and the family."
Tartikoff became the youngest entertainment president in network history
when he took over NBC's programming at age 30 in 1980. He quickly turned
the network around with groundbreaking programs like "Cheers", "Golden
Girls", "Family Ties" and "Miami Vice".
"I am terribly saddened by Brandon's passing," said "Family Ties" star
Michael J. Fox. "It is obvious that were it not for Brandon's belief in and
commitment to 'Family Ties', I would not be in this business today.
"He was a brillant man and a wonderful friend. My heart aches for his family."
In a statement, NBC called Tartikoff a "creator, humorist and innovator."
The network said it planned to broadcast a special tribute to Tartikoff
after Wednesday night's episode of "Law & Order".
"Brandon was immensely successful at everything he put his mind to," said
Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC West Coast. "Life didn't always smile on
him, yet Brandon always smiled at life. We will miss him, but he will
always be with us."
From 1991 to 1992, Tartikoff was chairman of Paramount Pictures. During
his time there the studio released hit movies such as "Wayne's World" and
"Patriot Games".
He resigned from Paramount in 1992 to spend more time with his daughter
after she was injured in an auto accident.
In March, Tartikoff was named chairman of Greenhouse Networks, which
develops original content for America Online Inc., the world's biggest
online computer service.
Tartikoff was born on New York state's Long Island on Jan. 13, 1949. He
graduated from Yale University in 1970 and became director of promotions at
a New Haven. Conn., television station. Two years later, he became director
of advertising and promotion at ABC's Chicago affiliate, WLS-TV. In 1976,
he joined the ABC network as a program executive and moved to NBC the
following year.
In 1993, he founded a movie and production company called Moving Targets
Productions. The next year, he sold it to New World Entertainment. In 1996,
New World was sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Tartikoff then founded H.
Beale Co., named after television newsman Howard Beale in the movie "Network".
http://blortland.netserv.com/Tartikoff.html
