David
L. Wolper is arguably the most
successful independent documentary
producer to have ever worked in
television. Through a career span
of nearly fifty years, this prolific
filmmaker has left his imprint
with documentary specials, documentary
series, dramatic miniseries, movies
made for theatrical release, movies
made for television, television
sitcoms, entertainment specials
and entertainment special events.
Wolper began his career in the late 1940s by selling B-movies,
English dubbed Soviet cartoons
and film serials, including Superman, to television stations. Interested
in producing television documentaries,
in 1958 he established Wolper
Productions. Working with exclusive
Russian space program footage
and NASA cinematography of American
missile launches, within two years,
his first film, The Race for
Space, was completed and had
attracted a sponsor. Wolper offered
the film to all three networks
but an unofficial rule of the
time dictated that only news programs
and documentaries produced by
network personnel were allowed
on the air. Not to be discouraged,
the young producer fell back on
his sales experience and syndicated
the film to 104 local stations
across the United States--the
overwhelming majority of these
stations network affiliates willing
to preempt other programming for
the Wolper show. For the first
time in television history a non-network
documentary special achieved near-national
audience coverage. Having been
released to theaters prior to
television, The Race for Space also received an Academy Award
nomination in the best documentary
category--another first for a
television film.
Wolper's notoriety helped to launch a significant number of
documentary projects that found
their way to network time slots.
Utilizing a basic compilation
technique, these early films consisted
of editing photo stills and film
clips to narration and music,
with occasional recreations of
footage, minimal editorial viewpoint
and high-information, high-entertainment
value. Increasingly successful,
within four years of establishing
Wolper Productions, Wolper's method
would place him on a level with
NBC and CBS as one of the three
largest producers of television
documentaries and documentary
specials.
A
major turning point in Wolper's
career occurred in 1960 when he
bought the rights to Theodore
H. White's book, The Making
of the President. Aired on
ABC, Wolper's potentially controversial
film presented an incisive look
at the American political process,
won four Emmy Awards including
1963 Program of the Year and guaranteed
Wolper's celebrity.
In
1964, Wolper sold his documentary
production unit to Metromedia
but stayed on as the company's
chief of operations. With this
media giant's backing, Wolper's
projects grew in scope and substance.
He became a regular supplier of
documentary programs to all three
commercial networks creating such
memorable series as The March
of Time, in association with
Time, Inc., and a series of nature
specials in collaboration with
the National Geographic Society.
For the latter, he introduced
American audiences to French oceanographer
Jacques Cousteau. This in turn
led to the first ever documentary
spin-off, The Undersea World
of Jacques Cousteau.
Breaking away from Metromedia in 1967, Wolper continued his
documentary work but also tried
his hand at theatrical release
motion pictures. He created a
number of unexceptional films
including The Bridge at Remagen (1968), If It's Tuesday,
This Must be Belgium (1969)
and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory (1971). In fiction
television, he found more success
with regularly scheduled television
series that included Get Christie
Love! (1974-75), featuring the
first black policewoman character
in television history, Chico
and the Man (1974-78) and Welcome Back, Kotter (1975-79).
Perhaps Wolper's most significant accomplishment was his developmental
work with the television non-fiction
drama miniseries. In the mid-1970s,
after bypass heart surgery and
sale of his company to Warner
Brothers, he helped to invent
the docudrama genre with his award-winning
production of Alex Haley's acclaimed
family saga, Roots. Reconstructing
history in an unprecedented twelve
hour film, the series was broadcast
in one- and two-hour segments
over an eight-day period in January
1977. Contrary to initial concerns
over the high risk nature of the
venture, the series brought ABC
a 44.9 rating and 66% share of
audience to set viewership records
that place it among the most watched
programs in the history of television.
In
1984, Wolper stepped out of his
usual role as film producer to
orchestrate the opening and closing
ceremonies for the Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles. The first ever
to be staged by a private group,
the ceremonies received a 55%
share of audience outranking all
other Olympic coverage. For his
efforts, Wolper was rewarded with
a special Emmy and the Jean Hersholt
Humanitarian Award at the Oscar
ceremony in 1985. The following
year he was recruited to produce
the Liberty Weekend hundredth
anniversary celebration for the
Statue of Liberty. The four day
event was viewed by 1.5 billion
people worldwide.
As
a producer, filmmaker, entrepreneur,
historian and visionary, David
Wolper's career has been one of
taking risks and continually breaking
new ground. Most importantly,
through his more than six hundred
films his innovative and creative
spirit has educated and entertained
millions.
-Joel Sternberg
DAVID LLOYD WOLPER. Born in New York City, New York,
U.S.A., 11 January 1928. Studied
at Drake University, 1946; University
of Southern California, 1948.
Married: 1) Margaret Davis Richard,
1958 (divorced, 1969); one daughter
and two sons; 2) Gloria Diane
Hill, 1974. Began career as vice
president, then treasurer of Flamingo
Films, TV sales company, 1948-50;
vice president, West Coast Operations,
1954-58; chair and president,
Wolper Productions, Los Angeles,
since 1958; president, Fountainhead
International, since 1960; president,
Wolper TV Sales Co., since 1964;
vice president, Metromedia, Inc.,
1965-68; president and chair,
Wolper Pictures Limited, since
1968; consultant and executive
producer, Warner Brothers, Inc.,
since 1976. Member: U.S. Olympic
Team Benefit Committee; advisory
committee, National Center for
Jewish Film; Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences; Producers
Guild of America; Caucus for Producers,
Writers and Directors. Trustee:
Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
1984; American Film Institute;
Los Angeles Thoracic & Cardiovascular
Foundation. Board of directors:
Amateur Athletic Association of
Los Angeles, 1984; Los Angeles
Heart Institute; Southern California
Committee for the Olympic Games,
1977; Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences Foundation, 1983;
University of Southern California
Cinema/Television Department.
Recipient: Award for documentaries,
San Francisco International Film
Festival, 1960; Distinguished
Service Award, U.S. Junior Chamber
of Commerce; Monte Carlo International
Film Festival Award, 1964; Cannes
Film Festival Grand Prix for TV
Programs, 1964; Oscar Award: Jean
Hersholt Humanitarian Award, 1985;
named to TV Hall of Fame, 1988;
Medal of Chevalier, French National
Legion of Honor, 1990; Lifetime
Achievement Award, Producers Guild
of America, 1991; 8 Globe Awards;
5 Peabody Awards; 40 Emmy Awards;
numerous other awards. Address:
Wolper Organization, Inc., 4000
Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California
91522, U.S.A.
TELEVISION SERIES (selection)
1961-64; 1979 Biography
1962-65 Story of . . .
1963-64 Hollywood and the Stars
1965-66 March of Time
1965-76 National Geographic
1968-76 The Undersea World
of Jacques Cousteau
1971-73 Appointment with Destiny
1972-73 Explorers
1974-78 Chico and the Man
1974-75 Get Christie Love
1975-79 Welcome Back, Kotter
TELEVISION MINISERIES (selection)
1976 Victory at Entebbe
1977 Roots
1979 Roots: The Next Generations
1983 The Thorn Birds
1985 North and South Book I
1986 North and South Book II
1987 Napoleon and Josephine
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Daivd L. Wolper
Photo courtesy of the Wolper Organization,
Inc.
MADE-FOR-TELEVISION MOVIES (selection)
1973
500 Pound Jerk
1974 Men of the Dragon
1974 Unwed Father
1974 The Morning After
1974 Get Christie Love
1976 Brenda Starr
1982 Agatha Christie Movie:
Murder Is Easy
1983 Agatha Christie Movie:
Sparkling Cyanide
1984 Agatha Christie Movie:
Caribbean Mystery
1989 The Plot to Kill Hitler
1989 Murder in Mississippi
1990 Dillinger
1990 When You Remember Me
1991 Bed of Lies
1992 Fatal Deception: Mrs.
Lee Harvey Oswald
1993 The Flood: Who Will Save
our Children?
1994 Without Warning
TELEVISION SPECIALS (selection)
1958 Race for Space
1959 Project: Man in Space
1960 Hollywood: The Golden
Years
1960, 1964, 1968 Making of
the President
1961 Biography of a Rookie
1961 The Rafer Johnson Story
1962 D-Day
1962 Hollywood: The Great Stars
1963 Hollywood: The Fabulous
Era
1963 Escape to Freedom
1963 The Passing Years
1963 Ten Seconds That Shook
the World
1963 Krebiozen and Cancer
1963 December 7: Day of Infamy
1963 The American Woman in
the 20th Century
1964 The Legend of Marilyn
Monroe
1964 The Yanks Are Coming
1964 Berlin: Kaiser to Khrushchev
1964 The Rise and Fall of American
Communism
1964 The Battle of Britain
1964 Trial at Nuremberg
1965 France: Conquest to Liberation
1965 Korea: The 38th Parallel
1965 Prelude to War
1965 Japan: A new Dawn Over
Asia
1965 007: The Incredible World
of James Bond
1965 Let my People Go
1965 October Madness: The World
Series
1965 Race for the Moon
1965 The Bold Men
1965 The General
1965 The Teenage Revolution
1965 The Way Out Men
1965 In Search of Man
1965 Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon
1966 The Thin Blue Line
1966 Wall Street: Where the
Money Is
1966 A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the White House
1967 China: Roots of Madness
1967 A Nation of Immigrants
1967 Do Blondes Have More Fun
1968 The Rise and Fall of the
Third Reich
1968 On the Trail of Stanley
and Livingstone
1970 The Unfinished Journey
of Robert F. Kennedy
1970-72 George Plimpton
1971 Say Goodbye
1971 They've Killed President
Lincoln
1971-73 Appointment With Destiny
1972 They've Killed President
Lincoln
1973-74 American Heritage
1973-75 Primal Man
1974 Judgment
1974 The First Woman President
1974-75 Smithsonian
1975-76 Sandburg's Lincoln
1976 Collision Course
1980 Moviola
1984 Opening and Closing Ceremonies,
1984 Olympic Games
1986 Liberty Weekend
1987 The Betty Ford Story
1988 What Price Victory
1988 Roots: The Gift
FILMS
Four Days in November, 1964; Devil's Brigade,
1967; The Bridge at Remagen, 1968; If It's Tuesday, This
Must Be Belgium, 1968; I
Love my Wife, 1970; The
Helstrom Chronicle, 1971; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory, 1971; King, Queen,
Knave!, 1972; One Is a
Lonely Number, 1972; Wattstax, 1973; Visions of Eight,
1973; Birds Do It...Bees Do
It..., 1974; The Animal
within, 1974; Victory at
Entebbe, 1976; The Man
who Saw Tomorrow, 1980; This
is Elvis, 1981; Imagine:
John Lennon, 1988; Murder
in the First, 1994; Surviving
Picasso, 1996.
FURTHER READING
Angelo, Bonnie. "Liberty's Ringmaster of Ceremonies." Time (New York), 7 July 1986.
Arar,
Yardena. "And the Show Goes On." Los Angeles Daily News,
2 May 1990.
Bluem, A. William. Documentary in American Television: Form,
Function, Method. New York:
Hastings House, 1965.
Berlin, Joey. "David Wolper's 'Imagine' Takes a Documentary
Approach." New York Post,
5 October 1988.
Goldenson, Leonard H., with Martin J. Wolf. Beating the
Odds: The Untold Story Behind
the Rise of ABC: The Stars, Struggles
and Egos That Transformed Network
Television By the Man Who Made
It Happen. New York: Scribner's,
1991.
Harvey, Alec. "Tragedy is Tale of Hope, Says Wolper." Birmingham
(Alabama) News, 2 February
1990.
"Hollywood Fights Back." In, Cole, Barry, editor. Television
Today: A Close-Up View Readings
from TV Guide. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1981.
Marc,
David, and Robert J. Thompson. Prime Time, Prime Movers: From
"I Love Lucy" to "L.A. Law"--America's
Greatest TV Shows and the People
Who Created Them. Boston:
Little, Brown, 1992.
O'Connor, Colleen, with Martin Kasindorf. "Wolper: Impresario
of the Big Event." Newsweek (New York), 7 July 1986.
"Wolper, David L." In, Monush, Barry, editor. 1993 International Television and Video Almanac. New York: Quigley, 1993.
"Wolper, David L(loyd)." In, Moritz, Charles, editor. Current
Biography Yearbook. New York:
H. W. Wilson, 1987.
"Wolper Performs Hat Trick Again: Documentaries on All 3 Webs." Variety (Los Angeles),
11 May 1966.
"Young King David." Newsweek (New York), 23 November
1964.
See
also Documentary; Roots
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