Post by Talon Karrde on Jun 24, 2006 15:33:23 GMT -5
I used to watch so many of his television shows back in the day. He will be missed.
From www.imdb.com:
"Aaron Spelling, the amazingly prolific television producer whose hits ranged from Charlie's Angels to 7th Heaven, died Friday after suffering a stroke last Sunday; he was 83. Spelling passed away at his Los Angeles home, where he had been resting since his stroke on June 18, for which he was briefly hospitalized. Born in Dallas, Spelling was the fourth son of immigrant Jews and grew up in poverty on the self-proclaimed "wrong side of the tracks," ostracized in his early years because of his religion and orthodox parents. After serving in World War II, he enrolled and later graduated from Southern Methodist University, quickly moving to Hollywood, where he worked briefly as a bit-player actor (he was a gas station attendant in an episode of I Love Lucy) and married the actress Carolyn Jones (later of The Addams Family fame) in 1953; they later divorced in 1964. Spelling found greater success as a writer for such shows as Playhouse 90, and soon was hired as a producer by Dick Powell for Four Star Productions, and his first hit was the crime drama Burke's Law, starring Gene Barry. After Powell passed away, Spelling teamed with actor-producer Danny Thomas, with whom he scored a major hit in The Mod Squad in 1969.
At the dawn of the 70s, Spelling signed an exclusive contract with ABC, a network his programming would come to dominate for the next decade; former ABC programming chief Leonard Goldberg joined him as a producing partner in 1972. The two produced innumerable television films (including The Boy in the Bubble, starring heartthrob John Travolta) before striking series gold with action shows SWAT, Starsky & Hutch and The Rookies, as well as the acclaimed Emmy-winning drama Family. It was a trio of huge hits, however, that cemented Spelling's fame and success: the Saturday night revolving guest-cast shows The Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and the phenomenally popular Charlie's Angels, which launched the careers of Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith (among other) and single-handedly invented "jiggle television," shows featuring beautiful women in revealing clothing. Other shows followed -- Hart to Hart, Hotel, Vega$, and TJ Hooker among them -- before Spelling struck gold again in the 80s with Dynasty, a pop-culture phenomenon that challenged the popular soap Dallas and for one season was the number one show in the country. Oftentimes, his Los Angeles mansion, which he bought in 1983 with second wife Candy Spelling and boasted 123 rooms, a bowling alley, swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis court, screening room and four 2-car garages, was compared to the excesses of Dynasty's fictional denizens.
When the quintessential 80s show was cancelled, Spelling found himself for the first time without a series on the air, which he said caused him to fall into a major depression. Nevertheless, after a year Spelling was back, this time with the teen soap Beverly Hills 90210, which helped launch the fledgling Fox network as well as his daughter Tori Spelling's acting career, a circumstance she would later affectionately spoof in her own comedy series, So NoTORIous. Spinoff Melrose Place quickly followed, as well as a number of other California-set series that were less memorable. Still, even into the new century, Spelling found himself with two hits on the WB network: the witchy fantasy Charmed, which ended only last season, and religious family drama 7th Heaven, which after a brief cancellation earlier this year was resurrected by the new CW network for the upcoming fall season. Though derided for his shows' superficiality, Spelling preferred to call them "mind candy," and his success and endurability was also marked by acclaimed programming such as the TV films The Best Little Girl in the World and the Emmy-winning AIDS drama And the Band Played On. Spelling also produced a number of feature films, including Soapdish, California Split, and Mr. Mom. Spelling is survived by his wife Candy, daughter Tori, and son Randy Spelling."
From www.imdb.com:
"Aaron Spelling, the amazingly prolific television producer whose hits ranged from Charlie's Angels to 7th Heaven, died Friday after suffering a stroke last Sunday; he was 83. Spelling passed away at his Los Angeles home, where he had been resting since his stroke on June 18, for which he was briefly hospitalized. Born in Dallas, Spelling was the fourth son of immigrant Jews and grew up in poverty on the self-proclaimed "wrong side of the tracks," ostracized in his early years because of his religion and orthodox parents. After serving in World War II, he enrolled and later graduated from Southern Methodist University, quickly moving to Hollywood, where he worked briefly as a bit-player actor (he was a gas station attendant in an episode of I Love Lucy) and married the actress Carolyn Jones (later of The Addams Family fame) in 1953; they later divorced in 1964. Spelling found greater success as a writer for such shows as Playhouse 90, and soon was hired as a producer by Dick Powell for Four Star Productions, and his first hit was the crime drama Burke's Law, starring Gene Barry. After Powell passed away, Spelling teamed with actor-producer Danny Thomas, with whom he scored a major hit in The Mod Squad in 1969.
At the dawn of the 70s, Spelling signed an exclusive contract with ABC, a network his programming would come to dominate for the next decade; former ABC programming chief Leonard Goldberg joined him as a producing partner in 1972. The two produced innumerable television films (including The Boy in the Bubble, starring heartthrob John Travolta) before striking series gold with action shows SWAT, Starsky & Hutch and The Rookies, as well as the acclaimed Emmy-winning drama Family. It was a trio of huge hits, however, that cemented Spelling's fame and success: the Saturday night revolving guest-cast shows The Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and the phenomenally popular Charlie's Angels, which launched the careers of Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith (among other) and single-handedly invented "jiggle television," shows featuring beautiful women in revealing clothing. Other shows followed -- Hart to Hart, Hotel, Vega$, and TJ Hooker among them -- before Spelling struck gold again in the 80s with Dynasty, a pop-culture phenomenon that challenged the popular soap Dallas and for one season was the number one show in the country. Oftentimes, his Los Angeles mansion, which he bought in 1983 with second wife Candy Spelling and boasted 123 rooms, a bowling alley, swimming pool, gymnasium, tennis court, screening room and four 2-car garages, was compared to the excesses of Dynasty's fictional denizens.
When the quintessential 80s show was cancelled, Spelling found himself for the first time without a series on the air, which he said caused him to fall into a major depression. Nevertheless, after a year Spelling was back, this time with the teen soap Beverly Hills 90210, which helped launch the fledgling Fox network as well as his daughter Tori Spelling's acting career, a circumstance she would later affectionately spoof in her own comedy series, So NoTORIous. Spinoff Melrose Place quickly followed, as well as a number of other California-set series that were less memorable. Still, even into the new century, Spelling found himself with two hits on the WB network: the witchy fantasy Charmed, which ended only last season, and religious family drama 7th Heaven, which after a brief cancellation earlier this year was resurrected by the new CW network for the upcoming fall season. Though derided for his shows' superficiality, Spelling preferred to call them "mind candy," and his success and endurability was also marked by acclaimed programming such as the TV films The Best Little Girl in the World and the Emmy-winning AIDS drama And the Band Played On. Spelling also produced a number of feature films, including Soapdish, California Split, and Mr. Mom. Spelling is survived by his wife Candy, daughter Tori, and son Randy Spelling."