Oliver Ernest Treyz (April 23, 1918 – June 14, 1998) was an American network television executive. Treyz was best known as the racy and controversial president of the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

. He was promoted from vice president to president in 1958 after the departure of

James T. Aubrey James Thomas Aubrey Jr. (December 14, 1918 – September 3, 1994) was an American television and film executive. As president of the CBS television network from 1959 to 1965, with his "smell for the blue-collar," he produced some of televi ...

. He served as network president until 1962. During his two-year tenure as vice-president and his four-year tenure as president, Treyz was responsible for the creation of several popular and memorable programs including '' Adventures in Paradise'', ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

'', '' Hawaiian Eye'', ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television Private investigator#PIs in fiction, private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith (actor), Roger Smith, Richard Long (actor), Richard Long (fr ...

'', ''

Surfside 6 ''Surfside 6'' is an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and featured Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield II; Van Williams as Kenny Madison (a character recycled ...

'', ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'', ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show wa ...

'' and ''

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...

''.

Early life and early career

Oliver Ernest Treyz was born on April 23, 1918 in Willowemoc, New York to Harry August Treyz (September 25, 1889–May 26, 1959) and Martha ''née'' Davey (1891–1984). Treyz graduated from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

in 1939. After graduation, Treyz began his career in broadcasting working at a small radio station in

Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

. He then went to work at advertising agency

BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...

. During World War II, Treyz served in the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

. After the war, in 1948, Treyz began his association with

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 ...

as a presentation writer for the company's radio division. On November 2, 1953, he was named Director of the ABC Radio Network. Treyz left ABC in 1954 and became the founder and first president of the

Television Bureau of Advertising Founded in 1953, the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) is a private not-for-profit trade association for the commercial local broadcast television industry in the United States. TVB's members include U.S. TV stations, broadcast ownership g ...

, a trade group for local television stations.

Tenure with ABC Television

On October 17, 1956, Treyz succeeded

Robert E. Kintner Robert E. Kintner (September 12, 1909 – December 20, 1980) was an American juggler and tennis champion who served as president of both the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Early life A nati ...

(1909–1980) as vice-president of the television division of the

. Kintner stepped down as president due to, what was termed as, "a dispute over policy". The next year on February 17, 1958, Treyz filled in and took over the seat as president of ABC. That position had been filled by

Leonard Goldenson Leonard H. Goldenson (December 7, 1905 – December 27, 1999) was the founder and president of the United States-based television network American Broadcasting Company (ABC), from 1953 to 1986. Goldenson, as CEO of United Paramount Theatres, ...

, at the time, the president of

American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc. (originally United Paramount Theatres, later the American Broadcasting Companies and ABC Television) was the post-merger parent company of the American Broadcasting Company and United Paramount Thea ...

, ABC's former parent company, who took over after the sudden departure of former network president

. During his years as president on ABC, Treyz was responsible for the creation and production of several memorable shows of that era including '' Hawaiian Eye'', ''

'', ''

The Real McCoys ''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Company, it ...

'' and ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

''.

''Bus Stop'' and resignation

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

'' premiered on ABC in October 1961. Several memorable episodes were produced during the show's single season run. But one in particular, ''

A Lion Walks Among Us "A Lion Walks Among Us" is a 1961 episode of the TV drama series ''Bus Stop (TV series), Bus Stop'', with guest star Fabian Forte, which was highly controversial because of its depiction of violence. It was an early work of director Robert Altman. ...

'', was the end to Treyz's tenure as president of ABC. The episode originally aired on December 3, 1961. It starred teenage heartthrob

Fabian Forte Fabian Forte (born Fabiano Anthony Forte, February 6, 1943), professionally known as Fabian, is an American singer and actor. Forte rose to national prominence after performing several times on '' American Bandstand''. He became a teen idol o ...

and the synopsis of that episode was as follows: "Fabian plays a degenerate drifter capable only of deceit, betrayal and murder. To win acquittal of one charge of murder in the town, he had an affair with the D.A.'s alcoholic wife, and then used that to blackmail the D.A. Once released he killed his own lawyers. And in a perverse 'balance of justice', the D.A.'s wife then killed him." The episode was highly criticized and caused great controversy due to its depiction and portrayal of what some called "graphic violence". The episode stirred so much controversy that 25 ABC affiliates refused to air the episode. The public outcry was so massive that, in January 1962, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

scheduled a congressional hearing to be headed by Senator

Thomas J. Dodd Thomas Joseph Dodd (May 15, 1907 – May 24, 1971) was an American attorney and diplomat who served as a United States Senator and Representative from Connecticut. He is the father of former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd and Thomas J. Dodd Jr., ...

. Neither executive producer

Roy Huggins Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including ''Maverick'', '' The Fugitive'', ''Hunter'', and ''The Rockford Files''. He ...

, director

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

or Goldenson were subpoenaed to the hearing. Instead, Treyz was summoned to the proceedings for his publicly known support to broadcast the episode. After an intense verbal exchange between Treyz and Dodd, the hearings eventually move on to Goldenson. The scandal brought so much shame to the network that Treyz was asked to step down from his position.

The Overmyer years

In the summer of 1966, warehouse mogul Daniel Overmyer announced plans to create a

fourth television network In American television terminology, a fourth network is a reference to a fourth commercial broadcast (over-the-air) television network, as opposed to the Big Three television networks that dominated U.S. television from the 1950s to the 1980s: ...

to compete against the

Big Three television networks In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their longev ...

and to take the place of the failed

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

. The network would be called the

Overmyer Network The Overmyer Network, later the United Network, was a television network. It was intended to be a fourth television network, fourth national commercial network in the United States, competing with the Big Three television networks. The network ...

. Overmyer hired Treyz to head the new network. The Overmyer Network debuted as the United Network on May 1, 1967. Unfortunately, the network folded one month later and Treyz's chance to make a comeback also failed.

Personal life

Treyz was married to Janet Treyz. They had two sons together; Donald C. Treyz (born 1949) and James Treyz (born 1952). He was widowed. Treyz, who suffered with alcoholism later in life, moved into the Actors' Fund Retirement Home in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

in the 1990s. Treyz died June 14, 1998 of kidney failure due to prostate cancer at the age of 80. He was survived by his two sons and two granddaughters.Obituary in Variety
/ref> He is buried with his parents in Orchard Street Cemetery in

Livingston Manor, New York Livingston Manor is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet (and a census-designated place) in Sullivan County, New York, Sullivan County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 1,221 at the 2010 census. Livingston Manor is located in t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Treyz, Oliver 1918 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American people American television executives American Broadcasting Company executives Presidents of the American Broadcasting Company