08-07-2021, 01:12 PM
television executive (mostly with NBC) Herbert Schlosser
Herbert Samuel Schlosser[1] (April 21, 1926 – August 6, 2021) was an American television executive who was a president and CEO of NBC. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he was a U.S. Navy veteran who went to Princeton University on the G.I. Bill and graduated from Yale Law School.[2]
Schlosser began his career as a corporate lawyer for the New York firm Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon,[3] where he first started working on television projects. He joined the business affairs department of the NBC Television Network in 1960, personally negotiating the agreements that brought Johnny Carson from ABC to NBC to host The Tonight Show.[4] He became the president of the NBC Television Network in 1973,[5] and in 1974, he was named president of NBC. Three years later, he was also named NBC's C.E.O.[6] While at NBC, he helped champion the careers of Flip Wilson, Diahann Carroll,[7] and Redd Foxx,[8] among others.[9]
Schlosser played a key role in the creation of Saturday Night Live, authoring a February 1975 memo[10][11] that proposed a new variety show to replace weekend re-runs of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.[12]
Schlosser's memo suggested that the show be called "Saturday Night", that it should air at 11:30, and that "if possible the show should be done live" and should seek to "get different hosts." "It would be a variety show," he wrote, "but it would have certain characteristics. It should be young and bright. It should have a distinctive look, a distinctive set and a distinctive sound … We should attempt to use the show to develop new television personalities." He said the show should be filmed in Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.[13]
Schlosser worked with NBC's then head of late-night entertainment, Dick Ebersol, who recruited Lorne Michaels to create Saturday Night Live, which premiered on October 11, 1975.[14]
In 1978, Schlosser became an executive vice president at RCA, NBC's parent,[15] and he later co-founded the television network A&E.[16]
Herbert Samuel Schlosser[1] (April 21, 1926 – August 6, 2021) was an American television executive who was a president and CEO of NBC. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, he was a U.S. Navy veteran who went to Princeton University on the G.I. Bill and graduated from Yale Law School.[2]
Schlosser began his career as a corporate lawyer for the New York firm Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon,[3] where he first started working on television projects. He joined the business affairs department of the NBC Television Network in 1960, personally negotiating the agreements that brought Johnny Carson from ABC to NBC to host The Tonight Show.[4] He became the president of the NBC Television Network in 1973,[5] and in 1974, he was named president of NBC. Three years later, he was also named NBC's C.E.O.[6] While at NBC, he helped champion the careers of Flip Wilson, Diahann Carroll,[7] and Redd Foxx,[8] among others.[9]
Schlosser played a key role in the creation of Saturday Night Live, authoring a February 1975 memo[10][11] that proposed a new variety show to replace weekend re-runs of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.[12]
Schlosser's memo suggested that the show be called "Saturday Night", that it should air at 11:30, and that "if possible the show should be done live" and should seek to "get different hosts." "It would be a variety show," he wrote, "but it would have certain characteristics. It should be young and bright. It should have a distinctive look, a distinctive set and a distinctive sound … We should attempt to use the show to develop new television personalities." He said the show should be filmed in Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.[13]
Schlosser worked with NBC's then head of late-night entertainment, Dick Ebersol, who recruited Lorne Michaels to create Saturday Night Live, which premiered on October 11, 1975.[14]
In 1978, Schlosser became an executive vice president at RCA, NBC's parent,[15] and he later co-founded the television network A&E.[16]
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.