Herbert Samuel Schlosser (April 21, 1926August 6, 2021) was an American television executive. He was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 ...

from 1974 until 1978. He also briefly served as its

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

from 1977 to 1978.

Early life

Schlosser was born in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, on April 21, 1926. His father, Abraham, ran his own furniture store; his mother, Anna (Olesker), was a housewife. He served in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

and was stationed in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

. He then studied public and international affairs at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. After graduating in 1949, he went to

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

and obtained a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1951.

Career

Schlosser began his career as a corporate lawyer for the New York firm Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon, where he first started working on television projects. He joined the business affairs department of the NBC Television Network in 1960, personally negotiating the agreements that brought

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

from ABC to NBC to host ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

''. He became the president of the NBC Television Network in 1973, and in 1974, he was named president of

. Three years later, he was also named NBC's C.E.O. While at NBC, he helped champion the careers of

Flip Wilson Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series ''The F ...

Diahann Carroll Diahann Carroll (; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including ''Car ...

, and

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. ...

, among others.

Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...

replaced Schlosser in 1978.

Proposal of ''Saturday Night Live''

Schlosser played a key role in the creation of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', authoring a February 1975 memo that proposed a new variety show to replace weekend re-runs of Johnny Carson's ''The Tonight Show''. Schlosser's memo suggested that the show be called "Saturday Night", that it should air at 11:30, and that "if possible the show should be done live" and should seek to "get different hosts". "It would be a variety show", he wrote, "but it would have certain characteristics. It should be young and bright. It should have a distinctive look, a distinctive set and a distinctive sound … We should attempt to use the show to develop new television personalities." He said the show should be filmed in Studio 8H at

30 Rockefeller Plaza 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1933, the 66 ...

. Schlosser worked with NBC's then head of late-night entertainment,

Dick Ebersol Duncan "Dick" Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the O ...

, who recruited

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...

to create ''Saturday Night Live'', which premiered on October 11, 1975.

Later career

Schlosser became an executive vice president at RCA, NBC's parent, in 1978. During his tenure, he co-founded the television network A&E. Schlosser later went to Wertheim & Co. as senior adviser in 1985. That year, he also became chairman of the

Museum of the Moving Image The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Amer ...

, which was inaugurated three years later. He continued serving in that capacity until 2013.

Personal life

Schlosser was married to Judith Gassner until his death. Together, they had two children,

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

, an author, and Lynn, who followed her father and became a television executive. Schlosser died on August 6, 2021, at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He was 95 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlosser, Herbert S. 1926 births 2021 deaths Princeton University alumni Yale Law School alumni American television executives NBC executives Presidents of NBC 20th-century American businesspeople People from Atlantic City, New Jersey