Programming Wiz Tartikoff Dies Ex-Nbc Entertainment President Loses Battle With Cancer At Age 48

Brandon Tartikoff, whose high-profile 10-year run as president of NBC Entertainment shepherded some of television’s most enduring programs and established network executives as celebrities, died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 48.

At 31, Tartikoff became the youngest executive ever to run an entertainment division, and he held the position longer than anyone else at any network.

Though associated with such long-running hits as “The Cosby Show,” “Family Ties” and “L.A. Law,” which powered NBC from third to first in the ratings from 1985 until 1991, Tartikoff’s legacy may have much to do with personality in programming. Unlike most of his predecessors, the executive savored the spotlight and even appeared on several television shows, from “ALF” to “Saturday Night Live.” Just last year he played a smarmy network executive on an episode of CBS’ “Dave’s World.”

“He worked best in a bright light,” said former NBC Chairman Grant Tinker, “and he cast a bright light.”

NBC broadcast a tribute to Tartikoff Wednesday night after “Law & Order.”

Tartikoff was first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease at age 23. After successful treatment, the disease recurred in 1981, shortly after he was promoted to president of NBC Entertainment and married; his wife Lilly, was a dancer with the American Ballet Company whom he met in Los Angeles. The disease went into remission until resurfacing last Thanksgiving.

Tartikoff resumed aggressive treatment in January and told friends earlier this month that he had been given a clean bill of health by his doctors. But on Monday, he re-entered the UCLA Medical Center, and died at about noon Wednesday from complications resulting from his treatments.

Despite reports that Tartikoff was again ill, the seriousness of his condition was not widely known. Close friends and associates said that Tartikoff, who in recent years has been a producer in television and for the Internet, was working as recently as last week, calling them with ideas and program pitches. An essay on his latest project - an entertainment Web site for America Online - was posted on the Internet on Monday and finished last week.

His death shocked and saddened colleagues in the entertainment industry, who lauded his programming acumen, competitive spirit, optimism in the face of adversity and his bold sense of humor.

“His combination of passion and love for (television) was so infectious, I think he’s irreplaceable,” said Ted Harbert, a former president of ABC Entertainment. “He raised the bar for all the executives that competed against him.”

NBC languished in third place at the time Tartikoff was named programming chief, which gave the network the freedom - under Tinker’s guidance - to stick with critically acclaimed but low-rated shows such as “Cheers” and “Hill Street Blues” that eventually turned its fortunes.

The key, however, came in 1984, when NBC premiered “The Cosby Show,” which had been passed up by other networks. It became an instant smash and vaulted the network into first place the next season for the first time in 30 years.

Friends say Tartikoff’s battle against Hodgkin’s disease gave him a perspective on life that was unusual for an executive in the cutthroat entertainment industry.

“There was not a cynical bone in his body; he had an unbridled enthusiasm,” said Jeffrey Sagansky, co-president of Sony Pictures Entertainment, who worked under Tartikoff at NBC. “He was rare in that he had an unflagging optimism.”

By 1991, NBC’s fortunes were beginning to turn, as the shows that put the network on top aged.

The same year, Tartikoff’s life changed dramatically as well, beginning with a New Year’s Day auto accident at Lake Tahoe that left both him and his 8-year-old daughter, Calla, seriously injured. Tartikoff was released from the hospital a month later, but Calla sustained a serious head injury from which she has never fully recovered.

After five years of therapy for Calla that forced the family to take up residence in New Orleans, the Tartikoffs moved back to their home in Beverly Hills earlier this year so Calla could enter the ninth grade in Los Angeles.

It was during Tartikoff’s own hospitalization after the accident that he was recruited as chairman of Paramount Pictures.

He was responsible for several hit movies at Paramount - including “Wayne’s World,” “The Firm” and “Indecent Proposal,” but his brief 15-month tenure was generally written off as a failed experiment.

NBC, meanwhile, plummeted to third place in the ratings the year after Tartikoff left, prompting executives to marvel at his sense of timing, allowing successors to grapple with the challenge of rebuilding NBC’s programming lineup.

After producing on his own for a time from New Orleans, Tartikoff sold his company to New World Entertainment and became its chief programmer. The company was sold to News Corp. in July 1996, and he left to resume pursuit of independent ventures - naming his new enterprise the H. Beale Co., after the crazed anchorman in the movie “Network.”

In addition to Calla, now 14, Tartikoff and his wife adopted a daughter, Elisabeth, age 3. Tartikoff is also survived by his father, Jordan, and sister, Lisa Rosenthal.