Leonard J. Goldberg (January 24, 1934 – December 4, 2019) was an American film and television producer. He had his own production company, Panda Productions (formerly Mandy Films, and earlier Daydream Productions when he was working with Jerry Weintraub). He served as head of programming for ABC, and was president of

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. Goldberg was also the

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 ...

of the CBS series '' Blue Bloods''.

Early life and education

Goldberg was born on January 24, 1934, to a

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 ...

family, the son of Jean (née Smith) and William Goldberg. He was a graduate of New Utrecht High School in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and the

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

where he received a B.S. in economics in 1955.

Career

As a producer, he was responsible for producing several television films, including the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

–⁠winning '' Brian's Song'' (1971) and '' The Boy in the Plastic Bubble'' (1976); the latter helping to launch

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...

's movie career. He also produced a string of hit television series while in partnership with

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), '' The Love Boat'' (1977–198 ...

; the best-known being ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by ...

'', '' Hart to Hart'', ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...

'', ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tatto ...

'' and ''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

''. He produced the Oscar-nominated movie '' WarGames'' (1983) as well as the comedy ''

The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training ''The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training'' is a 1977 American sports comedy-drama film and a sequel to the 1976 feature film '' The Bad News Bears''. Plot This film picks up the Bears' career a year after their infamous second-place finish i ...

'' (1977). He also partnered with producer Jerry Weintraub in the late 1970s, working on the television show ''

When the Whistle Blows ''When the Whistle Blows'' is an American comedy television series that aired for 10 hour-long episodes on ABC from March 14 to July 20, 1980. The series was produced by Universal Television and starred Dolph Sweet, Doug Barr, Susan Buckner ...

'', and had development contracts with ABC and

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. In 1981, he received an agreement with MGM/UA Entertainment Co. to produce and distribute TV shows as well as feature films under the Mandy Productions (later Mandy Films) company. He subsequently left MGM in 1984 to sign with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

to produce films and TV shows. He also produced the

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 ...

–⁠winning television film '' Something About Amelia'', which aired on ABC in 1984. It was one of the highest-rated television films of the year, watched by around 60–⁠70 million people.(18 January 1984)
Something About Amelia,' the made-for-TV movie about incest, carried..."
UPI Goldberg served as president of 20th Century Fox from 1987 to 1989, during which time the studio produced such films as '' Broadcast News'', '' Big'', '' Die Hard'', ''

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

'' and '' Working Girl''. Under his own banner, Leonard Goldberg produced the successful motion picture features '' WarGames'', '' Sleeping with the Enemy'', '' Double Jeopardy'' and the ''

'' films series. He also produced ''

Unknown Unknown or The Unknown may refer to: Film * ''The Unknown'' (1915 comedy film), a silent boxing film * ''The Unknown'' (1915 drama film) * ''The Unknown'' (1927 film), a silent horror film starring Lon Chaney * ''The Unknown'' (1936 film), a ...

'', starring

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on '' Th ...

, Diane Kruger,

January Jones January Kristen Jones (born January 5, 1978) is an American actress and model. She played Betty Draper in ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which she was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and a Pr ...

and

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flor ...

, released in theaters in February 2011. After he left 20th Century Fox in 1989, he moved to The Walt Disney Studios to serve as a film producer, before going back to Fox to sign a feature film production contract. In the late 1990s, he worked at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

as a film producer. He 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, Calif ...

at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard and was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2007. He was a member of the

Wilshire Boulevard Temple Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Wilshire Boulevard Temple's main building, with a sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine revival dome ...

.Hollywood Reporter: "Hollywood's Hottest $150 Million Project Is an 83-Year-Old Synagogue—Studio heads, agency chieftains and top producers have come together, 'Avengers'-style, to save their iconic but decaying Wilshire Boulevard Temple—an A-list house of worship far from the Westside" by Gary Baum
May 30, 2012 Goldberg served on the CBS Board of Directors from 2007 to 2018.

Personal life and death

In 1972, he married Wendy Howard. He had one daughter, Amanda Erin Goldberg and two stepsons, Richard Mirisch and

John A. Mirisch John A. Mirisch is an American politician and former film studio executive. He is currently a city council member of Beverly Hills, California. He also served as mayor from 2013 to 2014, from 2016 to 2017, and from 2019 to 2020. Early life John ...

. Goldberg died at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over ...

Los Angeles 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 ...

on December 4, 2019, as a result of injuries sustained in a fall. He was 85 years old.Leonard Goldberg, Producer of 'Charlie's Angels' and 'Blue Bloods,' Dies at 85
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Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As an actor

Television

;Thanks

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Leonard 1934 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American Jews Film producers from New York (state) Television producers from New York City 20th Century Studios people American Broadcasting Company executives American Broadcasting Company Vice Presidents of Programs New Utrecht High School alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Deaths from falls 21st-century American Jews