Lee Rich

Lee Rich
Rich in 1973
Born	(1918-12-19)December 19, 1918 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Died	May 24, 2012(2012-05-24) (aged 93) Los Angeles, California, United States
Education	Ohio University
Occupation(s)	Film and television producer
Known for	The Waltons and Dallas producer
Spouses	Pippa Scott ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1983)​ Angela Rich ​ (before 1991)​
Children	5
Awards	Emmy Award

Lee Rich (December 19, 1918 – May 24, 2012) was an American film and television producer, who won the 1973 Outstanding Drama Series Emmy award for The Waltons as the producer. He is also known as the co-founder and former chairman of Lorimar Television.[1]

Among the five Emmy nominated programs Rich produced were the series Dallas and Knots Landing.

Early life and education

Rich was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 19, 1918. His parents were Morris Richtaller and Anna Neminsky, both Jewish. His mother was born in Tetiev, Ukraine. He earned a marketing degree from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.[2][3]

Career

Rich began his career in advertising and ultimately became an industry executive.

He served in the Navy as a lieutenant in World War II, and then returned to advertising in New York, where he rose to senior vice president and a member of the board of Benton & Bowles.

As the ad agency middleman between product company sponsors and television producers, he was involved with The Andy Griffith Show, Make Room for Daddy, The Edge of Night, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Rich left Benton & Bowles in 1965 to partner with the Mirisch Co. and form Mirisch-Rich Productions. There he produced The Rat Patrol.

In 1969, he, Merv Adelson, and Irwin Molasky formed Lorimar Productions. Its first production was The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971), a television film which led to Lorimar producing the series it inspired, The Waltons, featuring the same characters. The series ran on CBS from 1972 to 1981. Rich also co-produced the short-lived 1977 CBS espionage drama Hunter. Lorimar's biggest hit was the primetime soap Dallas, which ran from 1978 to 1991. In regards to the famous Dallas storyline “Who shot J.R.?” in which Larry Hagman’s character is fired upon in the 1979-80 season finale in March and the assailant is not revealed until the following November, only Rich, Executive Producer, Philip Capice, and writer-director Leonard Katzman knew which of three previously shot endings would be used.

After leaving Lorimar in 1986, Rich joined MGM/UA Communications. For two years he was the chairman and chief executive of MGM.[4]

Personal life

Rich married American actress Pippa Scott in 1964, having three children together before they divorced in 1983,[5] though they maintained a friendship until his death.[2] Later Rich had two other children with his second wife, Angela Rich.

Death

Rich died on May 24, 2012, at the age of 93 in Los Angeles, California from lung cancer.[2][6]

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1971	The Sporting Club
1972	The Man
1977	The Choirboys
1978	Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?	Executive producer
1990	Hard to Kill	Executive producer
1992	Innocent Blood
	Passenger 57
1995	Just Cause
	The Amazing Panda Adventure
1996	Big Bully
1998	Desperate Measures
1999	Gloria
2001	The Score		Final film as a producer

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
1967	The Rat Patrol	Executive producer
	Sheriff Who	Executive producer	Television film
1971	Aesop's Fables	Executive producer	Television film
	Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate	Executive producer	Television film
	The Good Life	Executive producer
	The Homecoming: A Christmas Story	Executive producer	Television film
1972	The Crooked Hearts	Executive producer	Television film
	Pursuit	Executive producer	Television film
1973	The Girls of Huntington House	Executive producer	Television film
	Dying Room Only	Executive producer	Television film
	Don't Be Afraid of the Dark	Executive producer	Television film
	The Blue Knight	Executive producer	Television film
	A Dream for Christmas	Executive producer	Television film
	Pomroy's People	Executive producer	Television film
1974	Police Headquarters	Executive producer	Television film
	The Stranger Within	Executive producer	Television film
	Bad Ronald	Executive producer	Television film
	Apple's Way	Executive producer
1973−74	Doc Elliot	Executive producer
1975	The Runaway Barge	Executive producer	Television film
	The Runaways	Executive producer	Television film
	Returning Home	Executive producer	Television film
	Eric	Executive producer	Television film
	Conspiracy of Terror	Executive producer	Television film
1976	Widow	Executive producer	Television film
	Helter Skelter	Executive producer	Television film
	You're Just Like Your Father	Executive producer	Television film
1975−76	The Blue Knight	Executive producer
1977	Green Eyes	Executive producer	Television film
	Bravo Two	Executive producer	Television film
	Killer on Board	Executive producer	Television film
	Bunco	Executive producer	Television film
1978	A Question of Guilt	Executive producer	Television film
	The Wilds of Ten Thousand Islands	Executive producer	Television film
	The Young Pioneers	Executive producer
	The Waverly Wonders	Executive producer
	Desperate Women	Executive producer	Television film
	Long Journey Back	Executive producer	Television film
1979	Some Kind of Miracle	Executive producer	Television film
	Mr. Horn	Executive producer	Television film
	Studs Lonigan	Executive producer
	Married: The First Year	Executive producer
	Big Shamus, Little Shamus	Executive producer
	Young Love, First Love	Executive producer	Television film
	Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith	Executive producer	Television film
	A Man Called Intrepid	Executive producer
1978−79	Kaz	Executive producer
1980	Marriage Is Alive and Well	Executive producer	Television film
	Skag	Executive producer
	The Waltons: A Decade of the Waltons	Executive producer	Television film
	Reward	Executive producer	Television film
	Willow B: Women in Prison	Executive producer	Television film
	Joshua's World	Executive producer	Television film
	A Perfect Match	Executive producer	Television film
	Secrets of Midland Heights	Executive producer
1971−80	The Waltons	Co-executive producer Executive producer
1978−80	Dallas	Executive producer
1981	A Matter of Life and Death	Executive producer	Television film
	Our Family Business	Executive producer	Television film
	Killjoy	Executive producer	Television film
1977−81	Eight Is Enough	Executive producer
1982	King's Crossing	Executive producer
	A Wedding on Walton's Mountain	Executive producer	Television film
	Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain	Executive producer	Television film
	This Is Kate Bennett...	Executive producer	Television film
	Two Guys from Muck	Executive producer	Television film
	Two of a Kind	Executive producer	Television film
	A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain	Executive producer	Television film
1980−82	Flamingo Road	Executive producer
1983	Dusty	Executive producer	Television film
	One Cooks, the Other Doesn't	Executive producer	Television film
1990	The Face of Fear	Executive producer	Television film
1993	Killer Rules	Executive producer	Television film
	Against the Grain	Executive producer
	A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion	Executive producer	Television film
1994	Island City	Executive producer	Television film
1995	A Walton Wedding	Executive producer	Television film
1996	Dallas: J.R. Returns	Executive producer	Television film
1997	A Walton Easter	Executive producer	Television film

Production manager

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966−67	The Rat Patrol	Executive in charge of production
	Hey, Landlord	In charge of production
1976	Sybil	Production supervisor	Television film

Thanks

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	64th Primetime Emmy Awards	In memory of	Television special

References

1. Fink, Nikki (2012-05-25). "R.I.P. Television Mogul Lee Rich". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
2. Vitello, Paul (May 30, 2012). "Lee Rich Dies at 93; Helped Create Both J.R. and John-Boy". New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
3. McLellan, Dennis (May 26, 2012). "Lee Rich dies at 93; advertising executive became a top TV producer". Retrieved September 11, 2015.
4. "Lee Rich, Co-Founder of Legendary Production Company Lorimar, Dies at 93". The Hollywood Reporter.
5. https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118054663?refCatId=14 variety.com
6. "TV mogul Lee Rich dies at 91: Exec co-founded Lorimar, headed MGM/UA 859-803-3649". Chicago Tribune. May 25, 2012.

External links

• Lee Rich at IMDb
• Lee Rich at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• Image of Robert L. Jacks, Michael Learned, Richard Thomas and Lee Rich with their Emmys for "The Waltons," Los Angeles, California, 1973. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.