George Schlatter (born December 31, 1932) is 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

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, best known for ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...

'' and founder of the

American Comedy Awards The American Comedy Awards were a group of awards presented annually in the United States recognizing performances and performers in the field of comedy, with an emphasis on television comedy and comedy films. They began in 1987, billed as the "f ...

. For his work on

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, Schlatter has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

at 7030 Hollywood Blvd.

Life and career

Schlatter was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, and raised in

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography Webster Groves is located at ( ...

, a

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

inner-ring suburb. Born the son of a violinist mother and a salesman father. He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. As a teenager, Schlatter sang for two seasons with the

St. Louis Municipal Opera The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first se ...

, where his mother also performed. He attended

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Schlatter was a Hollywood agent in the band and act department of

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. After several years, he left to become general manager at the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

nightclub Ciro's. The comedy team of

Dan Rowan Daniel Hale Rowan (July 22, 1922 – September 22, 1987) was an American actor and comedian. He was featured in the television show ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'', wherein he played straight man to Dick Martin and won the 1969 Emmy for Outstandi ...

and Dick Martin performed there. In the early 1960s, following a short stint in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, he started producing variety series and specials for television. Between 1964 and 1970, he oversaw the annual telecast of the Grammy Awards. In 1968, he formed George Schlatter Productions, noted for ''Rowan and Martin's Laugh In'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

In the 1970s and 1980s, Schlatter produced and directed several television series, while continuing to produce variety specials. In 1987, he started "The American Comedy Awards", which was an annual event through 2001. Schlatter also produced a few feature films, and owns The Editing Company, which for many years was one of Hollywood's busiest state-of-the-art post production facilities. He is married to former actress

Jolene Brand Jolene Brand (born Jolene Marie Bufkin; July 31, 1934) is an American actress. She acted most in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in seven episodes of the Ernie Kovacs television shows. Career In 1958, she acted in the B-film '' Giant from the ...

who was a regular on several

Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years afte ...

shows of the early 1960s. They have two daughters, Andrea and Maria. Andrea Justine is a champion equestrian rider. Maria S. Schlatter is an Emmy award winning television producer.

Television work

A partial listing of his television achievements follows.

Executive producer

*''Muhammad Ali's All-Star 60th Birthday Celebration!'' (2002) *''

'' (1968–1972) *''

Turn-On ''Turn-On'' is an American sketch comedy series that aired on ABC in February 1969. Only one episode was shown, leaving one episode unaired, and the show is considered one of the most infamous flops in TV history. ''Turn-Ons sole broadcast ...

'' (1969; unsuccessful) *''Arnold's Closet Revue'' (1971) *''

Real People ''Real People'' is an American reality television series that originally aired on NBC from 1979 to 1984, Wednesdays from 8 pm to 9pm Eastern Time. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones. ''Real People'' featured "r ...

'' (1979) *''Goldie and Liza Together'' (1980) *Annual ''American Comedy Awards'' (1987–2001) *''A Party for Richard Pryor'' (1991) *''The First Annual Comedy Hall of Fame'' (1993) *''Sinatra: 80 Years My Way'' (1995) *''Caesars Palace 30th Anniversary Celebration'' (1996) *''The American Film Institute Salute to Dustin Hoffman'' (1999) *''The American Film Institute Salute to Harrison Ford'' (2000)

Producer

*''Victor Borge's Twentieth Anniversary Special'' (1961) *''

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'' is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to May 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore ...

'' (1962) *''

The Judy Garland Show ''The Judy Garland Show'' is an American Variety show, musical variety television series that aired on CBS on Sunday nights during the 1963–1964 television season. Despite a sometimes stormy relationship with Judy Garland, CBS had found succes ...

'' (1963) *''

The Fabulous Funnies The Fabulous Funnies was a one-hour primetime network special that aired on NBC on February 11, 1968, hosted by Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and a ...

'' (1968) *''The New Bill Cosby Show'' (1972) *''Cher'' (1975) *''John Denver and Friend'' (1976) *''The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here?'' (1977) *''The Goldie Hawn Special'' (1978) *''Salute to Lady Liberty'' (1984) *''Las Vegas: An All-Star 75th Anniversary'' (1987) *''Frank, Liza, and Sammy: The Ultimate Event'' (1989) *''Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration'' (1990) *''Muhammad Ali's 50th Birthday Celebration'' (1992)

Director

*''The Dinah Shore Special: Like Hep'' (1969) *''Comedy Club'' (1987) *''Frank, Liza, and Sammy: The Ultimate Event'' (1989) *''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: 25th Anniversary Reunion'' (1993)

Filmography

A partial listing of films that he produced and/or directed follows. *''Fire and Ice'' (1987) *'' Norman... Is That You?'' (1976)

Awards and honors

Between 1968 and 1996, Schlatter was nominated for 15

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s, winning twice for ''

'' as Outstanding Musical or Variety Program (1968) and for ''Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration'' as Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special (1990). He was also nominated for a Writers Guild of America award in 1997. For his work on

, Schlatter has a star on the

at 7030 Hollywood Blvd.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlatter, George 1932 births American television directors 20th-century American Jews Emmy Award winners Living people Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama People from St. Louis People from Webster Groves, Missouri 21st-century American Jews Television producers from Missouri