Fred Silverman

A television legend responsible for some of the most iconic shows of the 1970s, network executive Fred Silverman has remained the only individual who headed the programming divisions of the three major networks - CBS, ABC, NBC - while churning out hit after hit. After starting his career with local New York stations, Silverman thrived at CBS as a programming executive who made his name by putting such iconic series as "All in the Family" (CBS, 1971-79), "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (CBS, 1970-77), and "M*A*S*H" (1972-1983) onto the air. Despite having work, he was unhappy with CBS and soon moved on to run ABC, where he revitalized the flagging network with other classic shows like "Charlie's Angels" (ABC, 1976-1981), "The Love Boat" (ABC, 1977-1986) and "Fantasy Island" (ABC, 1978-1984). With a solid decade of near unprecedented success, Silverman took a step up in title and responsibility with his new network, NBC, only to fall flat after boasting he could turn around their misfortunes in less than a year. Though he had a couple of hits with "Hill Street Blues" (NBC, 1981-87) and "Diff'rent Strokes" (NBC/ABC, 1978-1986), Silverman was largely responsible for a number of flops as well as the short, but disastrous reign of producer Jean Doumanian on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ). But he rebounded as an independent producer with "Matlock" (NBC/ABC, 1986-1995), "Jake and the Fatman" (CBS, 1987-1992) and "Diagnosis: Murder" (CBS, 1993-2001), cementing his legacy as one of the small screen's greatest behind-the-scenes talents. Born on Sept. 13, 1937 in New York City, Silverman was raised the son of a TV repairman in Queens and dreamed of a career in television from an early age. After earning his bachelor's at Syracuse University and his master's at Ohio State University, he began his career at WGN-TV in Chicago before working for six weeks at the then-independent station WPIX in New York. Silverman went on to join CBS as the head of daytime programming, becoming at