Paul Kenneth Taff (January 21, 1920 in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

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

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, 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, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debut ...

''. Taff spearheaded the funding for Julia Child'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 Scool and from

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Media Decaturian The ''Decaturian'', also known as ...

. He later received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an 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 practice.

in speech from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

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. Taff became the first

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

to appear on

WTVP WTVP (channel 47) is a PBS member television station in Peoria, Illinois, United States, owned by the Illinois Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation. The station's studios are located on State Street in downtown Peoria, and its transmitter ...

(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 or plastic. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which ...

) in 1953, In Decatur, Illinois. 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 Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, formally founded in 1693 and first settled in 1636. It was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is on the banks of the Connecticut River, southeast ...

, 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