Martin Starger | |
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| Born | May 8, 1932 |
| Occupation | |
Martin Starger (born May 8, 1932) is an American entertainment entrepreneur. He led ABC Entertainment (a wing of the American Broadcasting Company) during its boom period in the 1970s, pioneering the creation of television shows such as ABC Movie of the Week , Marcus Welby, M.D. and Happy Days . He also pushed the limits of television broadcast presiding over pioneering miniseries and specials such as Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man .
He made his way into films as the executive producer of Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville before becoming tied to the film production department of Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment starting with Stanley Donen's 1978 film Movie Movie . Working with Grade, Starger became the president of Associated Film Distribution, the distributor of ITC's films which tied him to the production of films both successful ( Autumn Sonata , The Muppet Movie , On Golden Pond , Sophie's Choice ) as well as the bombs that destroyed the company ( Raise the Titanic! , The Legend of the Lone Ranger , Saturn 3 ). After the fall of AFD, Starger continued to produce films such as Peter Bogdanovich's 1985 film Mask .
Associated Television was a British television broadcaster within the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and to the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982. It was one of the "Big Four" until 1968, and the "Big Five" after 1968, that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes. In 1982, ATV was restructured and rebranded as Central Independent Television, under which name it continued to provide the service for the Midlands.
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series to exclusively use live actors as opposed to marionettes, and his second to be firmly set in contemporary times. It was also the only Gerry Anderson–produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, The Protectors became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second series. A third series was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor, Brut, ended its funding and thus forced the series' cancellation.
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 when, in partnership, he successfully bid for franchises in the newly created ITV network, which led to the creation of Associated Television (ATV). Having worked for a time in the United States, he was aware of the potential for the sale of television programming to American networks. The Incorporated Television Company was formed with this specific objective in mind. Grade had some success in this field with such series as Gerry Anderson's many Supermarionation series such as Thunderbirds, Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner, and Jim Henson's The Muppet Show. Later, Grade invested in feature film production, but several expensive box-office failures caused him to lose control of ITC, and ultimately resulted in the disestablishment of ATV after it lost its ITV franchise.
The Muppet Movie is a 1979 musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley and produced by Jim Henson. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, it is the first theatrical film in The Muppets franchise. The film was written by The Muppet Show writers Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns. Produced between the first and second half of The Muppet Show's third season, the film tells the origin story of the Muppets, as Kermit the Frog embarks on a cross-country trip to Los Angeles, encountering several of the Muppets—who all share the same ambition of finding success in professional show business—along the way while being pursued by Doc Hopper, a greedy restaurateur with intentions of employing Kermit as a spokesperson for his frog legs business.
Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent motion picture production company that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, with blockbuster successes including the first three films of the Rambo franchise, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Basic Instinct, Universal Soldier, Cliffhanger and Stargate. Nevertheless, the company was losing money overall, and required a corporate restructuring in 1992. The 1995 film Cutthroat Island, intended to be a comeback for the studio, instead lost $147 million and brought the company to an end.
The Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 American Western film that was directed by William A. Fraker and stars Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd.
The Long Good Friday is a 1980 British gangster film starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. It was completed in 1979, but because of release delays, it is generally credited as an ‘80s film. The storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, including mid-level political and police corruption, and IRA fund-raising.
Saturn 3 is a 1980 British science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel. The screenplay was written by Martin Amis, from a story by John Barry. Though a British production, the film has an American cast and director.
Jeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is known for his recurring roles as Billy Chenowith in HBO's Six Feet Under and as NYPD Detective Cyrus Lupo in NBC's Law & Order. He also starred in the comedy Clueless (1995), the biblical television film Jesus (1999), the teen drama Thirteen (2003), and the horror film Wrong Turn (2003). In 2004, he portrayed bigoted baseball player Shane Mungitt in Take Me Out, for which he was nominated for a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Featured Performance in a Play. In 2006, Sisto starred in Festen on Broadway.
The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes.
The Lexington Broadcast Services Company was a television production and syndication company formed on November 15, 1976, by advertising pioneer Henry Siegel. Advertising Age wrote of Siegel as "the man who built Lexington Broadcast Services into the nation's largest barter syndicator, and thus defined that segment of the TV ad business."
The Baron is a British television series made in 1965 and 1966, based on the book series by John Creasey and produced by ITC Entertainment. Thirty episodes were produced, and the show was exported to the American ABC network.
Edgar J. Scherick was an Emmy-winning American television executive and producer of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures.
Escape to Athena is a 1979 British adventure comedy war film directed by George P. Cosmatos. It stars Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono and Elliott Gould. The film is set during the Second World War on a German-occupied Greek island. The music was composed by Lalo Schifrin. It was filmed on location on the island of Rhodes.
Nestor Montague "Monty" Berman was a British cinematographer and film and television producer.
Glen Glenn Sound was an audio post production company formerly located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
Associated Film Distribution was a British film distribution company. It was set up in the 1970s by ITC Entertainment and EMI Films to distribute their films in the US.
Raise the Titanic is a 1980 adventure film produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment and directed by Jerry Jameson. The film, written by Eric Hughes (adaptation) and Adam Kennedy (screenplay), is based on the 1976 book of the same name by Clive Cussler. The storyline concerns a plan to recover the RMS Titanic due to the fact that it was carrying cargo valuable to Cold War hegemony.
Green Ice is a 1981 British adventure film starring Ryan O'Neal. It was also released under the name Operation Green Ice.
