Editing Brandon Tartikoff (section)

==Career==
Tartikoff was hired as a program executive at [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in 1976. One year later, he moved to NBC (after being hired by [[Dick Ebersol]] to direct comedy programming). Tartikoff took over programming duties at NBC from [[Fred Silverman]] in 1981.<ref name="BarberaAutoBio">{{cite book|last=Barbera|first=Joseph|title=My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century|year=1994|publisher=[[Turner Publishing]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|isbn=1-57036-042-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mylifeintoonsfro00barb/page/188 188–189]|url=https://archive.org/details/mylifeintoonsfro00barb/page/188}}</ref> At age 32, Tartikoff became the youngest president of NBC's entertainment division.

When Tartikoff took over, NBC was in last place behind ABC and CBS, and the future of the network was in doubt. A writers' strike was looming, affiliates were defecting, mostly to ABC, and the network had only three [[prime time]] shows in the Top 20: ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'', ''[[Diff'rent Strokes]]'' and ''[[Real People (TV program)|Real People]]''. [[Johnny Carson]] was reportedly in talks to move his landmark late-night talk show to ABC. The entire cast and writers of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' had left that late-night sketch-comedy series, and their replacements had received some of the show's worst critical notices (except for fellow cast members [[Eddie Murphy]] and [[Joe Piscopo]] who stayed with ''SNL'' until 1984).  By 1982, Tartikoff and his new superior, the  former producer [[Grant Tinker]], began to turn the network's fortunes around.<ref name="BrandonAutoBio">{{cite book |last=Tartikoff |first=Brandon |title=The Last Great Ride |publisher=Hyperion Books |location=New York |year=1992 |isbn=0-394-58709-X |url=https://archive.org/details/lastgreatride00tart }}</ref>

As head of NBC's Entertainment Division, Tartikoff's successes included ''[[The Cosby Show]]'', for which he had pursued [[Bill Cosby]] to create a [[pilot episode|pilot]] after having been impressed by Cosby's stories when Cosby guest-hosted ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show]]''. Tartikoff wrote a [[brainstorming]] [[memorandum|memo]] that simply read "[[MTV]] [[police|cops]]",<ref name=makingofvice>{{cite book|last=Janeshutz|first=Trish|title=The Making of Miami Vice|publisher=Ballatine Books|location=New York|year=1986|page=12|isbn=0-345-33669-0}}</ref><ref name=coolcops>{{cite magazine|last=Zoglin|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Zoglin|date=1985-09-16|title=Cool Cops, Hot Show|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959822,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211221401/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959822,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 11, 2007|access-date= 2007-11-02}}</ref><ref name=memo>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/19/arts/guiding-no-1-the-man-who-programs-nbc.html|title=Guiding No. 1: The Man Who Programs NBC|date=1988-04-19|access-date=2008-02-08|last=Boyer|first=Peter J.|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name=nbcmiamivice>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbc.com/Vintage_Shows/Miami_Vice/about/index.shtml |title=About the Show |work=NBC Universal, Inc. |access-date=2008-05-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423035720/http://www.nbc.com/Vintage_Shows/Miami_Vice/about/index.shtml |archive-date=2008-04-23 }}</ref> and later presented the memo to series creator [[Anthony Yerkovich]], formerly a writer and producer for ''[[Hill Street Blues]]''. The result was ''[[Miami Vice]]'', which became an icon of 1980s pop culture.<ref name=coolcops/> ''[[Knight Rider (1982 TV series)|Knight Rider]]'' was inspired by a perceived lack of leading men who could act, with Tartikoff suggesting that a talking car could fill in the gaps in any leading man's acting abilities.<ref name="BrandonAutoBio"/>

During the casting process of ''[[Family Ties]]'', Tartikoff was unexcited about [[Michael J. Fox]] for the role of Alex P. Keaton.<ref name="BrandonAutoBio"/> However, the show's producer, [[Gary David Goldberg]], insisted until Tartikoff relented saying, "Go ahead if you insist. But I'm telling you, this is not the kind of face you'll ever see on a [[lunch box]]." Some years later, after the movie ''[[Back to the Future]]'' cemented Fox's stardom, Fox goodnaturedly sent Tartikoff a lunch box with Fox's picture on it, with a handwritten note reading: "Brandon, They wanted me to put a [[Eat crow|crow]] in here, but&nbsp;... Love and Kisses, Michael J."<ref name="THR">{{cite web|last1=Rose|first1=Lacey|title=The Private Files of Brandon Tartikoff Revealed|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brandon-tartikoff-private-files-revealed-379352|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=3 April 2017|language=en|date=17 October 2012}}</ref> Tartikoff kept the lunch box on display in his office.<ref name="CPD">{{cite web|last1=Dawidziak|first1=Mark|title=Gary David Goldberg, who fought to cast Michael J. Fox in 'Family Ties,' dies at 68|url=http://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/index.ssf/2013/06/gary_david_goldberg_who_fought_to_cast_michael_j_fox_in_family_ties_dies_at_68.html|website=cleveland.com|date=June 25, 2013 |publisher=The Cleveland Plain Dealer|access-date=3 April 2017}}</ref>

[[Jerry Seinfeld]] credited Tartikoff with saving ''[[Seinfeld]]'' from cancellation during its first four years of struggling ratings.<ref>''The Howard Stern Show'', June 26, 2014. SiriusXM.</ref> [[Johnny Carson]] broke the news of his retirement in February 1991 to Tartikoff at the Grille in Beverly Hills. For several days, only Tartikoff and NBC chairman [[Bob Wright]] knew of the planned retirement.<ref name="BrandonAutoBio"/>

Tartikoff wrote in his memoirs that his biggest professional regret was cancelling the series ''[[Buffalo Bill (TV series)|Buffalo Bill]]'', which he later went on to include in a fantasy "dream schedule" created for a ''[[TV Guide]]'' article that detailed his idea of "The Greatest Network Ever".{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

During his time at NBC, he made appearances in several of the network's shows. He was played by [[David Leisure]] in "Prime Time," episode five of season two of ''[[ALF (TV series)|ALF]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://tv.apple.com/gb/episode/prime-time/umc.cmc.1hxj8323teu1jqgd0xp2mn5my?showId=umc.cmc.1s2h8d83z7irdqri6umw9al0b | title=Prime Time – ALF (Series 2, Episode 5) &#124; Apple TV (UK) | date=October 18, 1987 }}</ref> In the penultimate scene when ALF suggests a sitcom about a family hosting a lovable alien, he replies "Not in a million years, pal, it's too far-fetched." He hosted ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in 1983 and appeared as himself in an episode of ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'', where he briefly entertains the notion of a "show about a high school principal and his kids", before scoffing at the idea. During his 1983 appearance on ''Saturday Night Live'', one skit featured Tartikoff in a black leather ensemble, with the words "Be There" spelled out in [[rhinestone]]s on the back of his jacket. "Be There" was NBC's [[slogan]] during the 1983–84 season. Tartikoff appeared as himself on episodes of ''[[Night Court]]'' and ''[[Night Stand with Dick Dietrick]]'', and in the background of one of the final episodes of ''Cheers''.

On New Year's Day 1991, Tartikoff was involved in a car crash near the family's [[Lake Tahoe]] home that injured him and his eight-year-old daughter Calla, who suffered a severe brain injury and received intense therapy in order to walk and speak again.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 3, 1991|page=C14|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/03/arts/tartikoff-is-injured-in-car-crash.html|title=Tartikoff Is Injured in Car Crash|last=Carter|first=Bill|access-date=May 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 23, 1991|page=D1|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/23/business/tartikoff-is-reported-in-paramount-talks.html|title=Tartikoff Is Reported in Paramount Talks|last=Carter|first=Bill|access-date=May 19, 2023}}</ref>

He left NBC, moving to [[Paramount Pictures]] to become its chairman from July 1, 1991.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 2, 1991|page=D17|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/02/business/the-media-business-tartikoff-to-run-paramount-pictures.html|title=Tartikoff to Run Paramount Pictures|last=Carter|first=Bill|access-date=May 19, 2023}}</ref> His first film was ''[[All I Want for Christmas (film)|All I Want for Christmas]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=All I Want for Christmas|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58748-ALL-IWANTFORCHRISTMAS?sid=fadbc678-f304-48d7-aa87-8eeb737e9461&sr=16.278975&cp=1&pos=0|access-date=May 19, 2023|website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref>

Just over a year later, Tartikoff left that post to spend more time with his recovering daughter in New Orleans.<ref name=prem>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Première (magazine)|Premiere]]|title=Who Needs This?|date=November 1992|page=22|last=Brown|first=Corie}}</ref><ref name=resign>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 30, 1992|page=D1|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/30/business/tartikoff-resigns-at-paramount.html|title=Tartikoff Resigns at Paramount Pictures|last=Weinraub|first=Bernard|access-date=May 19, 2023}}</ref> The biggest hit of his reign was ''[[Wayne's World (film)|Wayne's World]]''.<ref name=prem/><ref name=resign/> After he left Paramount, he started Moving Target Productions in 1992, and his first work was a joint effort with [[Universal Television|MCA TV]] in 1993.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1993-10-18|title=Tartikoff's back, and MCA's got him|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/93-OCR/BC-1993-10-18-Page-0019.pdf|access-date=2021-09-29}}</ref>

In 1994, he made his comeback to national TV with ''Last Call'', a short-lived late-night discussion show he produced. That same year he also produced ''[[Steven Banks|The Steven Banks Show]]'' for [[PBS]]. Later that year, he began a brief run as chairman of [[New World Communications|New World Entertainment]],  from 1994 to 1996.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1994-06-20|title=Tartikoff to head New World Entertainment|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/94-OCR/BC-1994-06-20-Page-0017.pdf|access-date=2021-09-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=1994-06-15|title=Tartikoff to Head Unit of New World : Entertainment: Production company hopes to become force in global television market.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-15-fi-4483-story.html|access-date=2021-09-29|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> Shortly after New World bought out Moving Target Productions, he renamed his production company to MT2 Services (short for '''M'''oving '''T'''arget '''2'''), and instrumental in developing ''[[Strange Luck]]'' for [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] and ''[[Second Noah]]'' for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brandon Tartikoff|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0850748/bio#trivia|access-date=2021-09-29|website=IMDb|language=en}}</ref> Through MT2 Services, he also developed the failed Marvel TV pilot ''[[Generation X (film)|Generation X]]'' for Fox.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sandler|first=Adam|date=1996-02-20|title=Fox Tuesday Night at the Movies Generation X|url=https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/fox-tuesday-night-at-the-movies-generation-x-1200409083/|access-date=2021-09-30|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref>

Just prior to his death, Tartikoff served as the chairman of the [[AOL]] project Entertainment Asylum, for which he teamed with [[Scott Zakarin]] to build the world's first interactive broadcast studio.  He also continued to do on-air appearances on shows such as ''[[Dave's World]]'' and ''[[Arliss (TV series)|Arli$$]]''. In 1996, he left New World Entertainment, following the announcement of its purchase by [[News Corporation]], and then subsequently started H. Beale Company.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1996-07-22|title=News Corp. builds syndication muscle|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/96-OCR/BC-1996-07-22-OCR-Page-0007.pdf|access-date=2021-09-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1997-09-01|title=TV loses Tartikoff touch|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/97-OCR/BC-1997-09-01-OCR-Page-0018.pdf|access-date=2021-09-29}}</ref>