Mary-Ellis Bunim (July 9, 1946 – January 29, 2004) was 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 co-creator of

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 ...

's ''

The Real World Real World or The Real World may also refer to: * Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds Television * ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017 * "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...

'' and ''

Road Rules ''Road Rules'' is an MTV reality show that was a sister show of the network's flagship reality show, '' The Real World''. The series debuted on July 19, 1995, and ended on May 9, 2007. This allowed ''Road Rules'' a total of 14 seasons and 12 yea ...

''.

Biography

A native of Massachusetts, Bunim began her career in daytime dramas. She oversaw more than 2,500 hours of programming as executive producer of ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show fo ...

'' (1974–1981), ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' (1981–1984), '' Santa Barbara'' (1984–1987) and '' Loving'' (1989–1990). She subsequently developed numerous shows in her job as VP of tape programs for New World Entertainment. Bunim founded Bunim-Murray with business partner

Jonathan Murray Jonathan Murray (born October 26, 1955) is an American television producer and co-creator of MTV's '' The Real World'', ''Road Rules'' and '' The Challenge'', and the Oxygen Network's ''Bad Girls Club''. Early life Murray was born in Gulfport, ...

. Agent Mark Itkin of the William Morris Agency put the two together to develop a scripted soap opera for MTV. When that was too expensive, they decided to try an unscripted soap and ''The Real World'' was born. "We knew within 20 minutes of shooting that we had a show," Bunim said. Her company,

Bunim/Murray Productions Bunim/Murray Productions is an entertainment production company based out of Glendale, California, and is considered a pioneer in the reality television genre. It is best known for '' The Real World'', ''Road Rules'', ''Bad Girls Club''. Mary-El ...

, spearheaded the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

genre. Among the numerous other reality programs and reality game show programs that Bunim co-created over the years, include: ''Road Rules''; ''Love Cruise''; ''Making the Band''; '' The Challenge'' (formerly known as ''Real World/Road Rules Challenge'' and spun off from ''The Real World'' and ''Road Rules''); the reality feature film, ''

The Real Cancun ''The Real Cancun'' is a 2003 American reality film directed by Rick de Oliveira and written by Brian Caldirola. Inspired by the reality television genre, this film followed the lives of sixteen Americans from March 13–23, 2003 as they celebrate ...

''; the real-life daily syndication, '' Starting Over''; as well as Fox's ''

The Simple Life ''The Simple Life'' is an American reality television series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It depicts the two wealthy socialites, as they struggle to do manual, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, serving meals in fast ...

''.

Death

Bunim died in Los Angeles at 57, after a lengthy battle with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. She is interred at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Histor ...

. Bunim and Murray were inducted into the

Television Academy Hall of Fame The Television Academy Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. The hall of fame was founded by former Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) president John H. Mitchell (1921–1988). In ...

in 2012.

References

External links

*
Mary-Ellis Bunim
At

Find A Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunim, Mary-Ellis 1946 births 2004 deaths Television producers from Massachusetts American women television producers Soap opera producers Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in California American reality television producers Actresses from Massachusetts People from Northampton, Massachusetts Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American women 21st-century American women