Escapist glitz made producer a fortune

[KiwiCoromandel]

AARON Spelling wanted to be a writer. He scripted occasional episodes for Wagon Train and also appeared in bit-part roles in I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke and other series in the 1950s. But he made little impression either at the typewriter or in front of the camera and turned to producing instead.

Twenty years later, he was the most successful producer in American television, turning out a seemingly endless string of international hit shows that included Starsky and Hutch (1975-79), Charlie's Angels (1976- 81), The Love Boat (1977-86), Hart to Hart (1979-84) and Dynasty (1981-89).

In terms of the number of shows he made, the audience they commanded and the wealth they generated, he had few rivals.

A generation of film-makers and executives grew up with Spelling's shows and held them in much greater affection than the critics. In recent years The Mod Squad and Starsky and Hutch have been the subject of big-screen remakes and there have been two Charlie's Angels films with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu taking over from Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. Spelling was executive producer on the first instalment.

Spelling enjoyed the fruits of his success: he travelled the country in a private railway carriage, was attended by a uniformed butler and imported snow to California by the truck load so that his children could enjoy a white Christmas.

more..........

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...0-16947,00.html

[moonglow]

? The American Dream ?