Brandon Tartikoff (
1949-
1997) was president of
NBC Entertainment and is credited with
NBC’s rise from the third place network to first in the ratings race in the 1980s. Tartikoff is thought of as a creative, original, risk-taking executive whose innovations improved the network and the television industry.
He graduated from
Yale University in
1970 with a degree in
English. He worked his way up through the ranks at
ABC, first at local affiliates and then recruited for the network by
Fred Silverman, the head of programming. In
1978, Silverman and Tartikoff took on the challenge of revitalizing last place NBC. Silverman appointed Tartikoff as the network’s entertainment president, making him the youngest network division chief in history, a post that he held even after his mentor left NBC.
Tartikoff’s formula was a combination of quality hour-long dramas and crowd pleasing
sitcoms. Among NBC’s successes under Tartikoff’s watch were
St. Elsewhere,
Hill Street Blues,
Family Ties,
The Cosby Show,
L.A. Law, and
Cheers. NBC’s Thursday night ratings powerhouse, a dominance which it still retains today, began during this era. Back then it began with Cosby at 8 and ended with Hill Street Blues at 10, a potent combination of dramas and sitcoms that remains with today’s
Friends to
ER lineup.
Tartikoff moved into the movie industry in
1991 by becoming chair of
Paramount. Both industries mourned his 1997 death of
Hodgkin’s disease.
TV Guide named an award after Tartikoff and this year’s recipient, the first, was
David E. Kelley. Today Kelley oversees
The Practice and
Ally McBeal. Back in
1989, Kelley was an unknown whom Tartikoff took a chance on by allowing him to replace
Steven Bochco as
executive producer on
L.A. Law.
Rumor has it that
Punky Brewster’s dog was named after him.