Edgar Scherick | |
---|---|
Born |
Edgar J. Scherick October 16, 1924 New York City, New York |
Died | December 2, 2002 Los Angeles, California |
(aged 78)
Occupation | Film producer, television producer |
Spouse(s) | Margaret Iwasaki Carol Romann |
Edgar J. Scherick (October 16, 1924 – December 2, 2002) was an American television executive and producer of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures.
Scherick was born in New York City, the son of Jennie (née Friedman) and Jacob J. Scherick. He was raised in Long Beach, NY and graduated Long Beach High School in 1941.
Widely credited as a pioneer in network sports broadcasting, Scherick created the television program ABC's Wide World of Sports at his company Sports Programs, Inc. which he started in 1956 with $600.00. In February 1960, Scherick sold Sports Programs to the American Broadcasting Company for $500,000 in ABC stock, where it became ABC Sports, the sports division of the network. With the acquisition, Scherick was appointed Vice President in charge of Network Sales. In June 1963, Scherick became Vice President of Programming for the ABC Television Network where he created many popular shows including Bewitched, Batman, That Girl, The Hollywood Palace, and Peyton Place.
After his television career, Edgar Scherick became a film and television producer and executive producer of 75 theatrical films, television movies and mini-series through his company Palomar Pictures International and other entities.
In 1983, Scherick had a cameo role as Wilson Crockett, a network television executive, in the Martin Scorsese film, The King of Comedy.
By January 2, 1990, Scherick had gone to work with Saban Entertainment through its Saban/Scherick Productions division, which was for mostly television movies and mini-series