Carol Ann Abrams ( Kelvin; September 23, 1942 – June 3, 2012) was an American television and film producer. She and her husband, television producer Gerald W. Abrams, are the parents of film director and producer

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

and screenwriter Tracy Rosen.

Early life

Born Carol Ann Kelvin in New York City to Lee (1915–2008) and Harry Kelvin (1911–1986), she earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

with honors from Penn State University. After marrying Gerald Abrams and having two children, Abrams obtained a

real estate license Real estate licenses, authorizations issued by state governments, give agents and brokers the legal ability to represent a home seller or buyer in the process of buying or selling real estate. Real estate agents and real estate brokers are require ...

, specializing in properties in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

and nearby Bel Air. She entered

Whittier Law School Whittier Law School was a law school in Costa Mesa, California founded in 1966. The law school was part of Whittier College, a private institution. After several years being ranked among the poorest-performing law schools in the United States ba ...

when she was 39 years old and graduated

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of her class. Her professors included lawyer-turned-celebrity journalist and

TMZ TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...

founder,

Harvey Levin Harvey Robert Levin (born September 2, 1950) is an American television producer, legal analyst, celebrity reporter, and former lawyer. He is the founder of celebrity news website TMZ, and the former host of ''OBJECTified'', which aired on the F ...

. She worked as a professor at

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...

for five years before entering the entertainment industry.

Career

She developed and executive produced '' The Ernest Green Story'', a 1993 television film which aired on the Disney Channel. The film following the true story of

Ernest Green Ernest Gideon Green (born September 22, 1941) is one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who, in 1957, were the first black students ever to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Gre ...

, played in the film by actor

Morris Chestnut Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film ''Boyz n the Hood''. He has appeared in feature films and on television series, including the starring role of ...

, one of the

Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering ...

during the 1957 forced integration of

Little Rock Central High School Little Rock Central High School (LRCHS) is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. The school was the site of forced desegregation in 1957 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation by ...

. The film premiered at Little Rock Central High School with an introduction by

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, who was the

President-Elect of the United States The president-elect of the United States is the candidate who has presumptively won the United States presidential election and is awaiting inauguration to become the president. There is no explicit indication in the U.S. Constitution as to whe ...

at the time. It aired on the Disney Channel in January 1993 and won a Peabody Award. She produced two television movies for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, ''Second Honeymoon'' in 2001, and ''Two Against Time'' in 2002. She later began a writing career, authoring two books, ''Grandparents & Grandchildren'' and ''Teen Knitting Club''.

Death

Abrams died from cancer on June 3, 2012, aged 69, at her home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. She was surrounded by her husband, children, a sister and five grandchildren.

References

External links

*
Listing with the California Bar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Carol Ann 1942 births 2012 deaths American women film producers American film producers American women television producers California lawyers Deaths from cancer in California Jewish American academics Whittier College faculty Whittier Law School alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni Television producers from New York City J. J. Abrams Film producers from New York (state)