Burt Sugarman

Last updated
Burt Sugarman
Born
Burton Roy Sugarman

(1939-01-04) January 4, 1939 (age 84)
Occupation(s)Film and television producer, businessman- founder of Burt Sugarman Productions, part company owner of Barris Industries
Spouses
Pauline Schur
(m. 1957;div. 1961)
(m. 1975;div. 1980)
(m. 1989)
Children2

Burton Roy Sugarman (born January 4, 1939) is an American film and television producer [1] best known for creating and producing the iconic 1970s/early '80s variety series The Midnight Special , which served as a showcase for popular musical groups of the time.

Contents

Sugarman also produced the 1970s game shows Celebrity Sweepstakes , Whew! and The Wizard of Odds , and the short-lived series The Richard Pryor Show . During 1979, Sugarman also owned shares in Old Tucson Corporation, which owned the Old Tucson and Old Vegas amusement parks in Arizona and Nevada. [2] [3] [4]

In the 1980s, he produced the motion pictures Kiss Me Goodbye , Extremities and Children of a Lesser God . He was the executive producer of the film Crimes of the Heart in 1986 and television series The Newlywed Game 1988. He was also part owner of Barris Industries (later known as the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company) before it was sold to Sony in 1989. During the late 1980s, Burt Sugarman was a member of The Giant Group, which they had bought investments in media firms, like broadcasting firm Reeves Entertainment Group, and television broadcaster/cable system operator/newspaper owner Media General in 1987. [5] [6] [7]

Personal life

Sugarman married television personality and talk show host Mary Hart in 1989; they have one son. [8] He had previously been married to Pauline Schur and to the late actress Carol Wayne, and was engaged to actresses Ann-Margret and Myrna Hansen.

Producer (as EP)

YearTitle
1969Dionne Warwick -Souled Out (TV Special)
1970The Switched On Symphony (TV Special)
1970Changing Scene (TV Special)
1970Changing Scene II (TV Special)
1971Changing Scene III (TV Special)
1971Changing Scene IV (TV Special)
1971Stand Up and Cheer (TV series) (EP-2 Episodes)
1971The Manipulator
1972The Jud Strunk Show (TV special)
1973The Wizard of Odds (TV series)
1973The Midnight Special (producer)
1974Celebrity Sweepstakes (TV series; co-produced with Ralph Andrews Productions)
1977The Richard Pryor Special? (TV Special)
1977The Richard Pryor Show (TV series)
1977Billboard No.1 Music Awards (TV series)
1979–1980Whew! (TV series; co-produced with Jay Wolpert Productions; previously a Bud Austin production)
1982Kiss Me Goodbye
1986Extremeties
1986Children of a Lesser God
1986Crimes of the Heart (EP)
1988The Newlywed Game (TV series)
1990Mary Hart Presents Love in the Public Eye (TV Special)

Himself

YearTitle
1974Rock Concert (TV series)
1983The Last Fight
1988The 2nd Annual American Comedy Awards (TV Special)
2008–2010 Entertainment Tonight (TV series)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Urich</span> American actor and producer (1946–2002)

Robert Michael Urich was an American film, television, and stage actor, and television producer. Over the course of his 30-year career, he starred in a record 15 television series.

<i>The Gong Show</i> American television series

The Gong Show is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1980 and 1988 to 1989, and was revived in 2017 for broadcast on ABC. The show was created and originally produced by Chuck Barris, who also served as host for the NBC run and from 1977 to 1980 in syndication. Its most recent version was executive-produced by Will Arnett and hosted by Tommy Maitland, a fictional character performed by Mike Myers. The Gong Show is known for its absurdist humor and style, with the actual competition secondary to the often outlandish acts presented; a small cash prize has typically been awarded to each show's winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Barris</span> American game show creator, producer, and host (1929-2017)

Charles Hirsch Barris was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting The Gong Show and creating The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. He was also a songwriter who wrote "Palisades Park", recorded by Freddy Cannon and also recorded by Ramones. Barris wrote an autobiography titled Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which was made into the film of the same name and directed by George Clooney.

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Sony.

Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Television. It was founded by Irwin Molasky, Merv Adelson, and Lee Rich. The company's name was a portmanteau of Adelson's then wife, Lori and Palomar Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DIC Entertainment</span> Film and television production company

DIC Entertainment Corporation, branded as the Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production company that was mostly associated as an animation studio. As a division of The Walt Disney Company, DIC produced live-action feature films and licensed countless anime series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jim Henson Company</span> American entertainment company

The Jim Henson Company is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Pictures Television</span> American content company

Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems (SG) and the third name of Pioneer Telefilms. For 26 years, the company was active from 1974 until New Year's Day 2001, when it was folded into Columbia TriStar Television, a merger between Columbia Pictures Television and TriStar Television. A separate entity of CPT continues to exist on paper as an intellectual property holder, and under the moniker CPT Holdings to hold the copyright for the TV show The Young and the Restless, as well as old incarnations from the company's television library such as What's Happening!!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Hart</span> American television personality and actress

Mary Hart is an American television personality and actress. She was the long-running host (1982–2011) of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up television program Entertainment Tonight, the longest running entertainment magazine show of all time. She was Miss South Dakota 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Landsburg Productions</span> Defunct American television production company

Alan Landsburg Productions (ALP) was an independent television production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company had produced In Search of... and That's Incredible!, two early examples of reality television decades before it became a confirmed genre. The company also found success in television movies, and scripted shows. They made a few theatrical movies as well, most notably Jaws 3-D (1983).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGM Television</span> American television production/distribution studio

MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital is an American television production and distribution studio launched in 1956 as "MGM-TV" as a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Barris Industries, Inc. was an American game show production company that was founded by Chuck Barris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Wolpert</span> American television producer and screenwriter (1942–2022)

Jay Wolpert was an American television producer and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Wayne</span> American actress (1942–1985)

Carol Marie Wayne was an American television and film actress. She appeared regularly on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as the Matinee Lady in the Art Fern's Tea Time Movie sketches.

Spelling Television Inc. was an American television production company that went through several name changes. It was originally called Aaron Spelling Productions, then Spelling Entertainment Inc. and eventually part of Spelling Entertainment Group. The company produced popular shows such as The Love Boat, Dynasty, Beverly Hills, 90210, 7th Heaven, Melrose Place and Charmed. The company was founded by television producer Aaron Spelling on October 25, 1965. The company is currently an in-name-only unit of CBS Studios. A related company, Spelling-Goldberg Productions, co-existed during a portion of the same time period and produced other well-known shows such as Family, Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch, and Fantasy Island but these series are not part of the modern day library now owned by Paramount Global. Another related company, The Douglas S. Cramer Company co-existed during a portion of the same time period, produced shows like Wonder Woman, Joe and Sons, and Bridget Loves Bernie and television films like Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway.

Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution of scripted television content, part of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. It was founded in 1979 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. (1924–2014) as Robert Halmi, Inc. The company uses the direct-to-series model for TV series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Verna</span>

Anthony F. Verna was a producer of television sports and entertainment blockbusters.

<i>Westworld</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of the American science fiction western television series Westworld premiered on HBO on October 2, 2016, and concluded on December 4, 2016, consisting of ten episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">69th Primetime Emmy Awards</span> Television awards covering 2016 and 2017

The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in US prime time television programming from June 1, 2016, until May 31, 2017, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California, and was broadcast in the U.S. by CBS. The ceremony was hosted by Stephen Colbert. The 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards were held on September 9 and 10, and was broadcast by FXX on September 16.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Vegas</span>

Old Vegas was an amusement park at 2440 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada, located in the Las Vegas Valley. The park's theme was American Old Western, modeled after 1850s Las Vegas. The site included various amusement rides and a replica of Las Vegas' Old Mormon Fort, which contained the Hondo Casino. As of 1979, the casino accounted for half of Old Vegas. The park also featured several relocated buildings from the former El Rancho Vegas hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. The Eureka Locomotive was also on display at the park during the 1980s. Old Vegas was developed as a sister property to Old Tucson, a similar theme park in Arizona.

References

  1. Los Angeles Times
  2. "Old Vegas Park Sale Planned". Henderson Home News. February 8, 1979. p. 23. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  3. Stafford, Mary (March 20, 1979). "Old Vegas to reopen in April as Westworld". Henderson Home News. pp. 1–2. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  4. "Sugarman Sells Interest In Westworld". Henderson Home News. September 25, 1979. pp. 1–2. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  5. "Barris said it may raise its stake in Reeves". Los Angeles Times . 16 July 1987. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  6. "Burt Sugarman Acquires 5.3% Stake In Reeves". Variety . 1987-07-22. p. 51.
  7. "Sugarman Makes Unsolicited Bid To Acquire Media General Firm". Variety . 1987-10-28. p. 45.
  8. Los Angeles Times