Aaron Spelling
Aaron F. Spelling (April 22, 1923 – June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer.
Spelling worked in some capacity on almost 200 productions beginning with the Zane Grey Theatre in 1956. His most recognizable contributions to television include Starsky and Hutch, Family, Hotel, Daniel Boone, The Rookies, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Vega$, Hart to Hart, Dynasty, The Colbys, T.J. Hooker, Twin Peaks, Nightingales, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Kindred: The Embraced, 7th Heaven, and Charmed. He also produced the NBC TV series Titans with Yasmine Bleeth in 2000 and Summerland in 2004.Also his daughter is a ho.
He holds the World Record as the world's most prolific television producer. [1], [2]
Born in Dallas, Texas, Spelling attended Forest Avenue High School. After serving with the USAAF, he graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1945. He went to New York and found some work as an actor.
He married actress Carolyn Jones, in 1953, and they moved to California. He had his break as a writer, selling his first script to Jane Wyman Theater in 1954. He went on to write for Dick Powell, Playhouse 90, and Last Man, amongst others. He joined Powell's Four Star Productions. After Powell's death he formed Thomas-Spelling Productions with Danny Thomas. Their first hit was The Mod Squad.
In 1972, he created Aaron Spelling Productions and another co-production company with Leonard Goldberg. His company went public in 1986 as Spelling Entertainment.
Spelling divorced Jones in 1965 and in 1968 he married Carol Jean Marer (Candy Spelling). He was father of the actors Victoria Davey Spelling (Tori Spelling) and Randall Gene Spelling (Randy Spelling). His home in Los Angeles is the largest single-family dwelling in California.
Spelling also produced the NBC daytime soap opera Sunset Beach from 1997 to 1999, and in one of his few acting roles since the 60's, played one of Bette's (Kathleen Noone) ex-husbands for one day in 1997.
Despite his many accomplishments in life, Spelling continued to emphasize that his favourite project of all time was 7th Heaven. He reportedly claimed that the success of this "little drama that could," and the fact that it had been the WB's most-watched series since 1998, was beyond belief to him.
After 2000, Spelling rarely gave interviews, and control of the Spelling Television company was been largely steered by his business partner E. Duke Vincent and the company's president, Jonathan Levin.
In 2004 Spelling was portrayed by Dan Castellaneta in the NBC film Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels.
On January 28, 2006, Spelling was sued by his former nurse who seeks unspecified damages for ten claims, including sexual harassment and discrimination, retaliation, sexual battery (for making "contact with the plaintiff's intimate parts"), assault, wrongful termination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. [3]
On June 18, 2006, Spelling suffered a severe stroke at his estate in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California and died there five days later on June 23, 2006 from complications of that stroke at age 83. [4] He had previously been diagnosed with oral cancer in 2001. [5]
External links
- Aaron Spelling at IMDb
- Aaron Spelling at TVRage.com
- Spelling's final print interview, conducted September 2005, with The Sydney Morning Herald