Spelling-Goldberg Productions was an American

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 ...

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

established on May 1, 1972 by Aaron Spelling and Screen Gems' top TV executive

Leonard Goldberg 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 Jer ...

. They produced series during the 1970s like ''

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 ...

'', '' Starsky & Hutch'', '' T. J. Hooker'', ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

'', '' Charlie's Angels'', ''

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, Tattoo. ...

'', and ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset life ...

''. Spelling's other companies, Aaron Spelling Productions (later known as Spelling Entertainment and

Spelling Television Spelling Television Inc. was an American television production company that went through several name changes. It was originally called Aaron Spelling Productions, then Spelling Entertainment Inc. and eventually part of Spelling Entertainment Gro ...

) and Thomas-Spelling Productions, co-existed at the same time period and produced other well-known shows. A majority of the series produced by Spelling-Goldberg originally aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

History

In 1973, Spelling-Goldberg struck a deal with

Metromedia Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMon ...

Producers Corporation to distribute the post-1973 output for off-net syndication, including TV movies and the new ''

Chopper One ''Chopper One'' is a short-lived ABC action-crime television series in early 1974, depicting the activities of a fictional California police helicopter team. The program was produced by television powerhouse Spelling-Goldberg Productions. The s ...

''. It was involved in a lawsuit with

Worldvision Enterprises Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. was an American television program and home video distributor established in 1954 as ABC Film Syndication, the domestic and overseas program distribution arm of the ABC Television Network. They primarily licensed ...

(previously ABC Films), the very first distributor of ''

The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department (SC ...

''; following the lawsuit, domestic syndication of ''The Rookies'' would be contracted out to

Viacom Enterprises Viacom Productions (formerly Viacom Enterprises) was a television production arm of Viacom International. The division was active from 1974 until 2004, when the company was folded into Paramount Network Television 10 years following Viacom's acq ...

, which would distribute the program through the 1990s.'Rookies' picked up by Viacom for sale in family hours (page 46)
from Broadcasting Spelling and Goldberg decided to part ways, and on June 27, 1977, the duo sold four of its series to

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

including ''S.W.A.T.'', ''Starsky & Hutch'', ''Charlie's Angels'' and ''

''. On May 17, 1982, the company was sold to

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

for more than $40 million.

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...

currently owns the Spelling-Goldberg television library (including the television series which were co-produced by Columbia Pictures Television). By May 1986, all of the Spelling-Goldberg's active operations went out of business after the last episode of ''

T.J. Hooker ''T. J. Hooker'' is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network un ...

'' aired. In 2015, many of these series are now seen on Cozi TV.

List of programs

TV shows

All series today are owned and distributed by

. All series were previously distributed by

and its successors (except for ''The Rookies'', which was originally syndicated by

). Some programs were previously distributed outside the United States through

Metromedia Producers Corporation Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuM ...

and that company's successor,

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

. * ''

'' (1972–1976) * ''

'' (1974) * ''

'' (1975–1976) * '' Starsky & Hutch'' (1975–1979) * '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981) * ''

'' (1976–1980) * ''

'' (1977–1984, original series co-produced with Columbia Pictures Television) * ''

'' (1979–1984) * '' T. J. Hooker'' (1982–1986)

Made for TV movies

For The
ABC Movie of the Week ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

*''

The Daughters of Joshua Cabe ''The Daughters of Joshua Cabe'' is a 1972 American made-for-television Western film directed by Philip Leacock. The story is about an aging homesteader in the Old West who needs children to help him establish his claim on his property. With his ...

'' (1972) *'' No Place to Run'' (1972) *'' Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole'' (1972) *'' The Bounty Man'' (1972) *'' Home for the Holidays'' (1972) *''

A Cold Night's Death ''A Cold Night's Death'' (also known as ''The Chill Factor'') is a 1973 American made for television horror-thriller film. The film was shown on January 30, 1973, on the ABC network. The film was directed by Jerrold Freedman and starred Rober ...

'' (1973) *'' Snatched'' (1973) *'' The Great American Beauty Contest'' (1973) *'' The Bait'' (1973) *'' The Letters'' (1973) *'' Satan's School for Girls'' (1973) *'' Hijack'' (1973) *''

Letters from Three Lovers ''Letters from Three Lovers'' is a 1973 made-for-television drama film directed by John Erman. An ''ABC Movie of the Week'' and a sequel to '' The Letters'' (1973), the film is co-produced by Aaron Spelling, written by Ann Marcus and stars Martin ...

'' (1973) *'' The Affair'' (1973) *''

The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped ''The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped'' is a 1974 American made-for-television comedy film starring Karen Valentine, Richard Long, Tom Bosley and Farrah Fawcett. It was directed by Bruce Bilson and aired as the ''ABC Movie of the Week'' on Januar ...

'' (1974) *'' The Death Squad'' (1974) *'' Cry Panic'' (1974) *'' Savages'' (1974) *''

Death Sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

'' (1974) *'' Hit Lady'' (1974) *'' Death Cruise'' (1974) *'' Only with Married Men'' (1974) *'' The Daughters of Joshua Cable Return'' (1975)

For The ABC nsert DayNight Movie

:''See ''The ABC Monday Night Movie'' and ''

The ABC Sunday Night Movie ''The ABC Sunday Night Movie'' is a television program that aired on Sunday nights, first for a brief time in 1962 under the title ''Hollywood Special'' (although ''Time'' magazine lists this version as ''The Sunday Night Movie'') to supposedly r ...

* ''

Murder on Flight 502 ''Murder on Flight 502'' is a 1975 American made-for-television drama mystery thriller film directed by George McCowan. The film stars Robert Stack, Sonny Bono and Farrah Fawcett-Majors, along with an all-star ensemble television cast in suppor ...

'' (1975) * '' The Legend of Valentino'' (1975) * ''

One of My Wives is Missing ''One of My Wives Is Missing'' is a television mystery thriller ( ABC, 1976) with Jack Klugman, Elizabeth Ashley, James Franciscus, Joel Fabiani, and others. The teleplay was based on the 1960 stage play ''Trap for a Single Man'' by Robert Thoma ...

'' (1976) * '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976) * '' The New Daughters of Joshua Cabe'' (1976) * '' Death at Love House'' (1976) * '' 33 Hours in the Life of God'' (1976) * '' The Sad and Lonely Sundays'' (1976) * ''

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble ''The Boy in the Plastic Bubble'' is a 1976 American made for television drama film inspired by the lives of David Vetter and Ted DeVita, who lacked effective immune systems. It stars John Travolta, Glynnis O'Connor, Diana Hyland, Robert Reed, ...

'' (1976) * ''

Little Ladies of the Night ''Little Ladies of the Night'' is a 1977 American made-for-television drama film starring David Soul, Louis Gossett Jr. and Linda Purl. When it was broadcast, it became the highest-rated TV movie of all time. Cast *David Soul as Lyle York *Louis ...

'' (1977) * ''

Beach Patrol Beach Patrol is a half-hour television series airing on truTV. The show features lifeguards and police working together to apprehend criminals and save lives. Each of the program's four seasons have focused on a different city San Diego, Miami ...

'' (1979)

Others

* ''Stone'' (1973 failed pilot starring Robert Hooke)Broadcasting, Dec. 18, 1972, pg. 23 * ''

California Split ''California Split'' is a 1974 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers and was the first non-Cinerama film to use eight-track stereo sound. Plot In Los Angeles, ...

'' (1974 theatrical film released by

) * ''Where's the Fire?'' (1975 comedy pilot) * ''

Baby Blue Marine ''Baby Blue Marine'' is a 1976 American drama film set during World War II that was directed by John D. Hancock and starring Jan-Michael Vincent. The feature film was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg. Plot Marion “Hedge” Hedg ...

'' (1976 theatrical film released by

)

References

Bibliography

* Perry, Jeb H. (1991). ''Screen Gems: A History of Columbia Pictures Television from Cohn to Coke, 1948-1983''. . Television production companies of the United States Sony Pictures Television {{US-media-company-stub