David L. Wolper

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David L. Wolper

Born

David Lloyd Wolper

January 11, 1928

, U.S.

Died

August 10, 2010

(aged 82)

U.S.

Resting

place

, California,

U.S.

Occupations

television and film producer

Spouse(s)

Toni Carroll

(

1953;

div.

1955)

(

1958;

div.

1969)

Gloria Diane Hill

(

1974)

Children

David Lloyd Wolper

(January 11, 1928 – August 10, 2010) was an American

television and film producer, responsible for shows such as

, and

, and the theatrically-released films

(1971) and

(1997). He was awarded the

at the

in 1985 for his

work producing the opening and closing ceremonies of the

in Los Angeles, as well as helping to bring the games there. His 1971 film (as

executive producer) about the study of insects,

, won

Biography

[

]

Wolper was born in New York City, into an eastern European

family, the

son of Anna (née Fass) and Irving S. Wolper.

He briefly attended

before transferring to the

Wolper directed the 1959 documentary

, which was nominated

for an

, and others including

(1961–63),

(1963) and

(1964). Wolper then sold

his company to

for $3.6 million in 1964.

In October 1968, he

paid $750,000 to leave Metromedia and took six film projects with him.

The pre-1968 library is owned by

(formerly International Creative Exchange), while the post-1970 library (along with Wolper's production

company, Wolper Productions, now known as The Wolper Organization

) has been owned by

since November

1976.

In 1965, the

formed a 10-year partnership with Wolper Productions where Wolper

produced successful television specials for the National Geographic Society across three networks

and

In 1969, Wolper received the Golden Plate Award of the

He won an Academy Award for the 1971 film

, about the study of insects, which he executive

produced. He also produced numerous documentaries and documentary series including

(TV) (1968),

Appointment With Destiny

(1971–73 TV series),

(1973),

(1981),

(1988) and others.

On March 13, 1974, one of his crews filming a

history of

was killed when their

slammed into the

shortly after takeoff

from

, killing all 35 on board, including 31 Wolper crew members.

The filmed segment was recovered in the wreckage and was broadcast in the television series

Primal Man

. The cause of

the crash remains unsolved.

In 1984, he helped bring the Olympic Games to Los Angeles and produced the opening and closing ceremonies.

He was

awarded the

at the

the following year.

In 1988, Wolper was inducted into the

and received the career achievement award from the

For his work on television, he had received his star on the

Wolper died on August 10, 2010, of

and complications of

at his Beverly

Hills home.

He is buried in

cemetery.

Productions

[

]

His company was involved in the following productions. He was a distributor of the early shows, and became an

executive producer with

The Race for Space

in 1958.

Year

Show

1949

(36 episodes)

1953

(90 episodes)

1954

(75 episodes)

1954

(32 episodes)

1954

(39 episodes)

1955

(26 episodes)

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1962–1963

1963

1963–1964

1964

1965

1965–1966

1965–1975

1966

1966–1968

1967

1967–1968

1968

1969

1970

1970–1972

1971

1971–1973

1972

(3 half-hour specials)

1972

1972–1973

1973

1973–1974

1973–1975

1974

(Series of 20 half-hours)

1974

1974–1975

1974–1976

1975

1975–1976

1976

The Unexplained

1976

1977

1978

The Little Mermaid

(

Andersen Story: The Mermaid Princess

)

1978

1980

Moviola

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Celebrate the Century