American television producer
David L. Wolper
Born David Lloyd Wolper
(1928-01-11 ) January 11, 1928Died August 10, 2010(2010-08-10) (aged 82) Occupation television and film producer Spouse(s) Toni Carroll (1953–1955; divorced)Margaret Dawn Richard (1958–1969; divorced; 3 children) Gloria Diane Hill (1974–2010; his death)
David Lloyd Wolper (January 11, 1928 – August 10, 2010) was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as Roots , The Thorn Birds , North & South , L.A. Confidential , and the blockbuster Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He also produced numerous documentaries and documentary series including Biography (1961–63), The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (TV), Appointment with Destiny (TV series), This is Elvis , Four Days in November , Imagine: John Lennon , Visions of Eight (1973), and others. Wolper directed the 1959 documentary The Race for Space , which was nominated for an Academy Award . His 1971 film (as executive producer) about the study of insects, The Hellstrom Chronicle , won an Academy Award .
Life and career [ edit ]
Wolper was born in New York City , the son of Anna (née Fass) and Irving S. Wolper.[1] For his work on television, he had received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . The pre-1968 library is owned by Cube Entertainment (formerly International Creative Exchange), while the post-1970 library (along with Wolper's production company, Wolper Productions, now known as The Wolper Organization) is owned by Warner Bros.
On March 13, 1974, one of his crews filming a National Geographic history of Australopithecus at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was killed when their Sierra Pacific Airlines Corvair 440 slammed into the White Mountains shortly after takeoff from Eastern Sierra Regional Airport in Bishop, California , killing all 35 on board, including 31 Wolper crew members. The filmed segment was recovered in the wreckage and was broadcast in the television series Primal Man . The cause of the crash remains unsolved.[2]
In 1988, Wolper was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame .[3]
Wolper died on August 10, 2010, of congestive heart disease and complications of Parkinson's disease at his Beverly Hills home.[4]
Productions [ edit ]
His company was involved in the following productions. He was a distributor of the early shows, and became an executive producer with The Race for Space in 1958.[5]
Year
Show
1949
Funny Bunnies (36 episodes)
1953
Superman (90 episodes)
1954
Baseball Hall of Fame (75 episodes)
1954
O.S.S. (32 episodes)
1954
Grand Ole Opry (39 episodes)
1955
Congressional Investigator (26 episodes)
1958
Men from Boys - The First Eight Weeks
1958
The Race for Space
1959
Project: Man in Space
1960
Hollywood: The Golden Years
1961
Biography of a Rookie: The Willie Davis Story
1961
The Rafer Johnson Story
1962
Hollywood: The Great Stars
1962
Hollywood: The Fabulous Era
1962
D-Day June 6, 1944
1962
Biography
1962–1963
Story of...
1963
Hollywood and the Stars
1963
Escape to Freedom
1963
Kreboizen and Cancer: Thirteen Years of Bitter Conflict
1963
The Passing Years: Rework of Story of a Year 1927
1963
The Making of the President, 1960
1963–1964
Specials for United Artists
1964
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
1964
The Quest for Peace
1964
A Thousand Days: A Tribute to John Fitzgerald Kennedy
1964
Men in Crisis
1965
Four Days in November
1965
France: Conquest to Liberation
1965
Korea: The 38th Parallel
1965
Prelude to War (Beginning of World War II)
1965
Japan: A New Dawn over Asia (Japan in the 20th Century)
1965
007: The Incredible World of James Bond
1965
Let My People Go: The Story of Israel
1965
October Madness: The World Series
1965
Race for the Moon
1965
Miss Television U.S.A.
1965
The Really Big Family: The Duke of Seattle & Their 18 Children
1965
Revolution in Our Time
1965
The Bold Men
1965
The General
1965
The Teenage Revolution
1965
The Way Out Men
1965
In Search of Man
1965
Pro Football: Mayhem On A Sunday Afternoon
1965
Revolution in the 3 R's
1965
The Thin Blue Line
1965
In Search of Man
1965
Silent Partners
1965–1966
The March of Time
1965–1975
National Geographic Society Specials
1966
The Making of the President, 1964
1966
Wall Street Where the Money Is
1966
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House
1966
Destination Safety
1966
China: Roots of Madness
1966–1968
The World of Animals
1967
The Big Land
1967
A Nation of Immigrants
1967
Untamed World
1967
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Hollywood
1967
Movin' with Nancy
1967–1968
Do Blondes Have More Fun?
1967–1968
The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
1968
Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
1968
The Dangerous Years
1968
California
1968
With Love, Sophia
1968
Monte Carlo: C'est La Rose
1968
Sophia: A Self Portrait
1968
The Highlights of the Ice Capades 1968
1968
On the Trail of Stanley and Livingstone
1968
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
1968
The Devil's Brigade
1968
The Making of the President, 1968
1969
The Bridge at Remagen
1969
If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
1969
Los Angeles: Where It's At
1970
The Unfinished Journey of Robert F. Kennedy
1970
I Love My Wife
1970–1972
The Plimpton Specials
1971
Say Goodbye
1971
They've Killed President Lincoln
1971
The Hellstrom Chronicle
1971
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
1971–1973
Appointment With Destiny
1972
King, Queen, Knave
1972
One Is a Lonely Number
1972
Here Comes Tomorrow: The Fear Fighters
1972
Republican Party Films
1972
Make Mine Red, White and Blue
1972
Top of The Month (3 half-hour specials)
1972
Of Thee I Sing
1972–1973
The Explorers
1973
The 500 Pound Jerk
1973
Wattstax
1973
Visions of Eight
1973–1974
Primal Man Specials
1973–1975
The American Heritage Specials
1974
This Week In The NBA (Series of 20 half-hours)
1974
NBA Game of the Week Featurettes
1974
Get Christie Love!
1974
Judgment Specials
1974
The Morning After
1974
Unwed Father
1974
Men of the Dragon
1974
The First Woman President
1974
Love from A to Z
1974
Birds Do It, Bees Do It
1974
The Animal Within
1974
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
1974–1975
Get Christie Love!
1974–1975
Smithsonian Specials
1974–1975
Sandburg's Lincoln
1974–1976
Chico and the Man
1975
Death Stalk
1975
I Will Fight No More Forever
1975–1976
Welcome Back, Kotter
1976
Brenda Starr
1976
Collision Course
1976
Celebration: The American Spirit
1976
The Unexplained
1976
Victory At Entebbe
1976
Mysteries of the Great Pyramids
1977
Roots
1978
Roots: One Year Later
1978
Roots: The Next Generations
1980
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
1980
Moviola
1981
This Is Elvis
1981
Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter
1981
Small World
1981
Murder Is Easy
1982
The Mystic Warrior
1982
Casablanca
1983
The Thorn Birds
1984
XXIIIrd Olympiad, Los Angeles 1984
1984
His Mistress
1985
North and South
1986
North and South: Book II
1986
Liberty Weekend
1987
The Betty Ford Story
1987
Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story
1988
What Price Victory
1988
Imagine: John Lennon
1988
Roots: The Gift
1989
The Plot to Kill Hitler
1989
Murder in Mississippi
1990
Warner Bros. Celebration of Tradition, June 2, 1990
1990
Dillinger
1990
When You Remember Me
1991
Best of the Worst
1991
Bed of Lies
1992
Celebrations
1992
Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald
1993
Celebration of a Life: Steven J. Ross Chairman of Time Warner
1993
The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children?
1994
Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III
1994
On Trial
1994
Golf - The Greatest Game
1994
Heroes of the Game
1994
Without Warning
1994
Murder in the First
1995
Prince for a Day
1996
The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years
1996
Surviving Picasso
1997
L.A. Confidential
1998
Terror at the Mall
1998
Warner Bros. 75th Anniversary Show
1998
A Will of Their Own
1998
Confirmation
1998
Legends, Icons and Superstars
1999
To Serve and Protect
1999
Celebrate the Century
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
Awards for David L. Wolper