Arnold Shapiro (born February 1, 1941) is an American

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

and writer. His best known work is the 1978 Oscar and Emmy-winning documentary, ''

Scared Straight! ''Scared Straight!'' is a 1978 American documentary directed by Arnold Shapiro. Narrated by Peter Falk, the subject of the documentary is a group of juvenile delinquents and their three-hour session with actual convicts. Filmed at Rahway Stat ...

'' His other productions include the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

reality series, ''

Rescue 911 ''Rescue 911'' is an American informational docudrama television series that premiered on CBS on April 18, 1989, and ended on August 27, 1996. The series was hosted by William Shatner and featured reenactments (and occasionally real footage) of e ...

'', hosted by

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

(1989–1996) and the CBS reality series, ''

Big Brother Big Brother may refer to: * Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' ** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control ** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...

'' (2001–2006); the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

documentary series, ''

Brat Camp ''Brat Camp'' was a reality television show. The first season, featuring RedCliff Ascent, won an International Emmy. Subsequent seasons saw declining viewership. The American version of ''Brat Camp'' was cancelled after its one-season run, but ...

'' (2005); the documentary, ''Scared Silent: Exposing & Ending Child Abuse'', hosted by

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

(1992) which aired as a simulcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, followed by

; ''Break The Silence: Kids Against Child Abuse'', hosted by

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

; ''Kids Killing Kids'', hosted by

Malcolm-Jamal Warner Malcolm-Jamal Warner (born August 18, 1970) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'', which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series a ...

, an Emmy-winning docu-drama which aired simultaneously and commercial-free on CBS and

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

; and Emmy-winning series of seven specials, ''The Teen Files'', hosted by

Leeza Gibbons Leeza Kim Gibbons (born March 26, 1957) is an American talk show host. She is best known as a correspondent and co-host for ''Entertainment Tonight'' (1984–2000) as well as for having her own syndicated daytime talk show, ''Leeza'' (1993–20 ...

. In 1987, Arnold Shapiro had produced an original how-to direct-to video project for Paramount Home Video, called ''How to Stop the One You Loved from Drinking and Using Drugs''. Among his 100+ awards are 16 Emmys, an Academy Award, the George Foster Peabody Award, the People's Choice Award, three humanities Prizes, the Television Academy's Governor's Award, and the Career Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association. Shapiro's most recent documentary series have been "

Homeland Security USA ''Homeland Security USA'' or ''Border Security: America's Frontline'' for Australian Viewers is a 2009 reality show. It portrayed members of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies tasked with the security of the US, performing ...

" for ABC; "

If You Really Knew Me ''If You Really Knew Me'' is an American reality television series which aired on MTV that focuses on youth subculture and different cliques A clique ( AusE, CanE, or ), in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one ...

" for MTV; and "

Beyond Scared Straight Beyond Scared Straight is a reality television series that aired on A&E from 2011 to 2015. The series follows troubled teenagers who spend one to three days in prison to learn from the inmates about the realities of being incarcerated. The seri ...

" for A&E (2010-2015). Shapiro's final production was the PBS documentary, "Iwo Jima: From Combat to Comrades" which premiered on Veteran's Day, 2015. Arnold Shapiro Productions has produced programs for all the broadcast networks and 14 cable channels - from

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. Shapiro is a native of Los Angeles and a graduate of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. After a 52-year career, Arnold Shapiro retired in 2016.

References

External links

* 1941 births Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni American television producers American television directors Place of birth missing (living people) American reality television producers Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners {{US-tv-producer-stub