Paul Kenneth Taff (January 21, 1920 in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is a southeastern suburb of St. Louis. The population was 42,404 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populated city in the Me ...

– January 3, 2013) was an American television executive,

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

, and television producer. His credits included ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. Its original incarnation, the se ...

''. Taff spearheaded the funding for

Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American pu ...

's first cooking show, ''

The French Chef ''The French Chef'' is an American television cooking show created and hosted by Julia Child, produced and broadcast by WGBH, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts, from February 11, 1963 to January 14, 1973. It was one of ...

'', which allowed the show to be aired nationwide and launched Child's television career. Taff had an over 70-year career in broadcasting. His career started during his college years as a control room operator and occasional announcer on WSOY radio in Decatur, Illinois. That beginning was followed by positions as continuity director and assistant program director at KFUO radio, St. Louis; program director at WBEZ radio, Chicago; program director at WTVP television, Decatur, Illinois; station manager at WMVS, an educational television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; director of children’s programs and director of program operations, National Educational Television (NET), New York City, the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS); president and general manager of Connecticut Educational Telecommunications Company, Hartford, Connecticut, which subsequently became Connecticut Public Broadcasting; and executive director, president and president emeritus of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association. Taff graduated from Belleville High School and from

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Millikin was initially esta ...

. He later received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in speech from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

of humane letters from the

University of New Haven The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut, United States. History The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which sha ...

. Taff became the first

television broadcaster A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...

to appear on WTVP (now

WAND A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal, bone or stone. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, whi ...

) in 1953, In

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. As Director of Children's Programs for National Educational Television, he helped to secure funding to acquire the broadcasting rights for ''

''. and bring it to a national television audience. A resident of

Glastonbury, Connecticut Glastonbury ( ) is a town in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States, formally founded in 1693 and first settled in 1636. It was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is ...

, Taff died on January 3, 2013, at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taff, Paul 1920 births 2013 deaths American television executives PBS people Northwestern University alumni Millikin University alumni People from Glastonbury, Connecticut Television producers from Connecticut