Word: silverman
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...freedom of speech and profits. Cowan never talks about how much money his client stood to lose if his programs were switched from one time slot to another because Archie and Edith want to talk about "Mike's problem." Another one of Cowan's idols is Fred "programming genius" Silverman, whom the author says "is the best hope for those concerned about television." We're talking about the man who brought Charley's Angels, the Love Boat and Fantasy Island to television...
...Fred Silverman's NBC there is so much movement that the RCA building, which has never before known so much activity, almost visibly shakes. But the network is further behind today than it was a year ago. Silverman more than doubled his California programming staff, adding 21 "talent" executives so quickly that the entire Hollywood press office had to move into trailers to make room for them. The trailers were immediately christened the Silverman Express. Then, in an unprecedented action last fall, Silverman dumped all seven of NBC's new shows, replacing them earlier this year with those...
...itself back in contention, CBS restructured its entire organization in October 1977, modeling itself on the winner, ABC, and in the process replaced almost its entire executive lineup. NBC also made big changes when Silverman arrived, and in Hollywood, where shows are produced, the standing joke is "If my boss calls, get his name." Robert Daly, president of CBS Entertainment, and Bud Grant, programming vice president, moved to Los Angeles to be nearer production. They were handed what seems to be a blank check to order pilots, giving them a much larger choice than their predecessors ever had. "They...
What those stomachs are supposed to provide is belly laughs, and all three networks are emphasizing comedy, with 15 comedy pilots being considered by NBC alone. Building on Different Strokes, Silverman hopes to win Friday night with laughter, just as ABC's giggles have locked up Tuesday. "People want to laugh," he says. "They just want to look at television and forget their troubles. I'm not a psychologist, but I would imagine that that's the root of the current trend...
...question is how long Silverman has to make good. One of his old bosses, Bill Paley, thinks the test will come next fall; up to now he has not had time, so the argument goes, to show his stuff. Many others doubt that he can do much until the summer of 1980, when the network will automatically command the air waves with the Moscow Olympics. Silverman himself seems to lean toward that timetable. "If I had a crystal ball and predicted what television will look like by the end of 1980," he says, "my judgment would be that...