Jamie Tarses, the first woman to run a network entertainment division, died Monday morning due to complications from a cardiac event she suffered last fall. ''Simply Mahvelous?'' [15], Tarses was the subject of what Bill Carter of The New York Times called an "unflattering profile" written by Lynn Hirschberg in The New York Times Magazine in July 1997, in which she "was portrayed as an embattled executive whose competence and professionalism was being questioned in Hollywood show business circles".[13][16][17]. She knows that ABC badly needs a ratings boost -- last week the network nearly sank into fourth place, behind Fox, which has seven fewer hours of prime-time programming each week. ''I'm just kidding. She knew how to pull the best out of you without trying to change your writing or make it into something different.. 2 in network entertainment -- though with a better title. Tarses was only 32 when she was named president of ABC Entertainment in June 1996. ''He had no place in the process,'' Iger explains. He also fought for ''Twin Peaks'' and ''N.Y.P.D. The News of Her Demise May Not Be Exaggerated. Tarses decides to call Iger in New York for his advice. And I don't know if I'll get the credit if we succeed. Agents and studio heads and prominent producers and even employees of the Walt Disney Company, ABC's parent corporation, have been predicting Tarses' fall from the moment she got the job in June of last year. Jamie Tarses Developed Friends & Frasier, Faced TV Industry Sexism ''. Ari Emanuel lets his AI alter ego open Endeavors earnings call, WGA chief negotiator David Young replaced due to illness ahead of key talks with studios, WGA asks members to vote on key demands in bargaining with studios. Ms. Tarsess departure from NBC was ugly. There is a vase of beautiful cabbage roses on the desk and a bottle of Crystal Light. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Survivors include her partner, Paddy Aubrey, and their two children. She was 56. When she arrived at ABC in the spring of 1996, Tarses was the second-youngest person to be the lead programmer of a network. As a well-reputed producer and TV executive, Jamie Tarses has a beautifully written biography on Wikipedia. ''It's fine to have the desire to be head of a network,'' Harbert says, ''but when it comes to Jamie, it's hard to know exactly what happened. The work is a blast. The implication, in all the talk, was that this was not how a network executive acted -- this was how a girl acted. Tarses resigned in 1999. ''This is the first time since I've taken this job that people, on the whole, were impressed. Even decades after she had left ABC, Ms. Tarses continued to serve as a lightning rod in Hollywood. A veteran television executive, Stuart Bloomberg, was installed above Tarses. Our hearts go out to her family during this difficult time and we honor her legacy.. Laybourne's seeming unwillingness to publicly deny her interest in Tarses' job is suspicious, and Eisner, despite all the turmoil at the network, has never issued a statement of support for Tarses. A huge screen spreads the ABC message, ''TV Is Good.'' Despite her tinkering, Tarses is pleased with ''Hiller and Diller. Before she blasted through glass ceilings for female executives in the TV industry, Tarses played a major role in the development of modern TV classics, including two tentpole entries in NBCs iconic Thursday night must-see TV lineup: Friends and Frasier., Despite being a mega power player, Tarses once humbly said, [Im] a genuine fan of the medium. Tarses was the wunderkind who was behind much of NBC's "Must See TV" success, including "Friends" and "Frasier" and she came from TV royalty, as her father Jay Tarses is a well-known TV. She will be remembered as a mentor and role model for many, including myself, and an inspiration to the entire creative community for generations to come. She picks at her grilled tuna, repeats dutifully that she looks forward to the new arrangement, but spends most of the night talking about a future that has nothing to do with being a network entertainment president. Disney had just acquired the company for $19 billion from Capital-Cities/ABC, and the Disney people, including its chairman and C.E.O., Michael Eisner, who had once been an executive at ABC, had no real blueprint for how to get the failing network to No. ''It was lonelier than I thought,'' Tarses says afterward. '', But move on to where? Jamie Tarses, the first woman to head a network entertainment division, has died. The charges were leaked to the press, and instantly, to many in the television community, Tarses went from being a rising star to someone who would do anything to get ahead. Friends executive Jamie Tarses dead at 56 after 'complications from a 'My Way.' [1], Tarses was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of television writer Jay Tarses and Rachel Tarses (ne Newdell), on March 19, 1964. ''Because I'm really rooting for CBS.''. Still, he says that he plans to stand by her. The role of Jamie Buchman ultimately came down to two people: Hunt and Teri Hatcher. For months now she has been wooing writers, actors, agents, managers and producers. He has left her on her own, which is what he did with Harbert. That was when, through her boyfriend, Morton, she began talking to Ovitz. Alas, her reign at NBC would only last 11 months. Sara James Tarses was born in Pittsburgh on March 16, 1964 to Jay and Rachel (Newdell) Tarses. And he had, in Tarses' case, an explosive means of setting her free: sexual harassment. The work is a blast, she told the Los Angeles Times after her departure from ABC in 1999. But with the network's fortunes in precipitous decline, executives soon found themselves grabbing for what was working elsewhere. Ms. Tarses resigned last week as president of ABC Entertainment, ending It's the worst trait you can have. Tarses came from a show-business family. LOS ANGELES A young, female executive arrives in the mens locker room that was broadcast television in the 1990s and snaps a few towels of her own, working with writers to shape juggernaut comedies like Mad About You and Friends. She is so good at spotting hits that she becomes, at 32, the president of entertainment at ABC, the first woman ever to serve as a networks top programmer. Tarses died of complications from a previous cardiac event on Monday, according to numerous outlets, who cited a statement from her family. And the final call on many of these things is her call. [12][13][14] She resigned in August 1999 with two years remaining on her contract. Understanding writers wants and needs probably began by growing up in a household with her dad who wrote and produced comedies. Tarses is survived by her partner Paddy Aubrey and their two children, Wyatt and Sloane, as well as her parents, Rachel and Jay, siblings Mallory and Matt, sister-in-law Katie Tarses, three nieces, and a nephew, per The Hollywood Reporter. But she is worried that she may need the show. And yet, there are those, like Ovitz, who underestimated Iger's corporate savvy. ''I don't want to sound silly -- this will be difficult. Michael Jay Tarses (born July 3, 1939) is an American screenwriter, producer, actor. Which was about 2 1/2 years longer than most observers expected her to last.Tarses came over from NBC, where she was credited with helping to develop hits like "Friends." She was a production assistant on Saturday Night Live in New York for a season before returning to Los Angeles in 1986 to become a casting director for Lorimar Productions. She was a mentor and friend, and many of us owe so much to her., Jamies creative genius sparked culture-defining shows that have spanned decades. ''You know what looked good?'' When not working, Nicholas can be found playing with his 5 dogs, listening to pop music or eating mozzarella sticks. he asks. ''I can't exactly say it was fun while it lasted. Jamie Tarses, a fast-rising television executive who shepherded hit NBC comedies such as "Friends" and "Frasier" to prime-time success, then spent three tumultuous years at ABC as the first. His coverage of the television industry has appeared in TV Guide, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, Fortune, the Hollywood Reporter, Inside.com and Adweek. The cause of death was heart complications from a. I'm new. I just dont want to play any more, she told The Los Angeles Times when she left ABC. Jamie Tarses, one of the most dynamic television executives of her era who helped build NBC's Must-See TV lineup and went on to become the first woman to lead a Big Three network programming division, died Monday following complications from a cardiac event last fall, according to Tarses' family.She was 56. She suffered a stroke late last year and had spent a long period in a coma. Newsday, the Long Island newspaper, referred to her as Minnie Mouse in one article and scarily ruthless in another. Even so, Tarses was criticised at times as showing poor judgment. She needs a protector, and without Harbert or Ovitz, she was left with Iger, who was 3,000 miles away in New York and not interested in watching out for her on a daily basis. Refresh for updates Pioneering TV executive Jamie Tarses is being remembered in Hollywood today as a "fun, funny, brutally honest" and a "driving force" in some of the most beloved television series of a generation. axis, which scores in ratings and thrills the sponsors. She was highly creative herself and, of course, came from a family of writers. (Her father, Jay Tarses, wrote for The Carol Burnett Show and created The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, an acclaimed comedic drama, from 1987 to 91. Now there is cable and the Murdoch-owned Fox Network and homes with two or three TV sets tuned to different shows and computers linked to the World Wide Web. Tarses, who is avoiding the agent-producer hard sell by spending most of her free time at Morton's apartment, rather than at her suite at the Four Seasons, actually seems to be, for the first time in nearly a year, happy. Eisner's standard was always something like ''Happy Days'' during the 70's, because that's when he worked at ABC. Look, he needs the schedule to work. William Morris Endeavor, which represented Tarses, called her a pioneer in every sense who always fought for strong creative work. She was the president of ABC Entertainment from 1996 to 1999, the first woman and one of the youngest people to hold such a post in an American broadcast network. Gossip swirled in Hollywood that she solved the problem by claiming that she had been sexually harassed by Don Ohlmeyer, a senior NBC executive. Sign up to Stock Advisor for $79 for 1 year, Save 15% on orders of $100+ with Kohl's coupon, How Chilis Is Prepping for Tough Times, Starting With the Fries, Electric Vehicles Are Shattering the Barrier to Adoption that Could Matter Most, The Surprising Ways Walking Delivers a High-Intensity Workout, U.S. Biz Markie, DJ And 'Just A Friend' Rapper, Dies After Stroke In April July 17, 202111:19 AM ET Heard on All Things Considered Andrew Limbong Rapper and DJ Biz Markie has died. Several television pilots failed but she ultimately found a few modest hits, including My Boys, a comedy created by Ms. Thomas and centred on a female sportswriter, and Happy Endings, a sitcom that dusted off the Friends formula. Jamie's new. Gossip swirled in Hollywood that she solved the problem by claiming that she had been sexually harassed by Don Ohlmeyer, a senior NBC executive. Customer Service. It wasn't a dictatorship. She climbed the corporate ladder at NBC until 1996. Watch: Retired Army Col. Paris Davis Awarded Medal of Honor, Why Barnes & Noble Is Copying Local Bookstores It Once Threatened, What Floridas Dying Oranges Tell Us About How Commodity Markets Work. Under the terms of her release from NBC, Tarses, who left in the middle of development season, could not begin at ABC for four months. Tarses grew up in the business -- her father, Jay Tarses, created, among other groundbreaking shows, ''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd,'' the first so-called dramedy. But the main action is in establishing a strong network identity that entices these viewers to make a habit of tuning in. The piece portrayed Tarses as a nervous girl who swung erratically between arrogance and insecurity. Or silently suffering through another attack. Sara James Tarses (March 16, 1964 February 1, 2021) was an American television producer and television studio executive. They joked about it at dinner. So were cable channels. Jamie Tarses' end, many in the business believe, was written in the beginning -- in how she got her job at ABC. Ms. Tarses in 2018. She suffered a stroke late last year and had spent a long period in a coma. I gave Jamie the keys and I have no plans to ask for them back. '', The Men in Tarses' Life: Ovitz, Morton and Harbert. Jamie Tarses dead: Pioneering female TV executive was 56 - Los Angeles Jamie Tarses Children. Just two weeks before, the rumor was that Stuart Bloomberg was being brought from New York to supervise Tarses. Asked about this, Tarses says: ''People truly believe that Iger is going to program the network. he says later. But if we fail, I'm sure Iger will not get the blame.''. Vicious infighting ensued, what The Wall Street Journal later deemed a case study in dysfunctional corporate relationships.. In particular they are frantically searching to hold on to the 18-to-49-year-olds that advertisers want most to reach. She ultimately resigned in 1999. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/13/magazine/jamie-tarses-fall-as-scheduled.html. The Walt Disney Company had purchased ABC shortly before Ms. Tarses arrived, heightening Wall Street scrutiny and intensifying corporate politics. There's some sexism and some ageism, but the truth is very complex. ''Look,'' she says, putting out her cigarette, ''I come to the party not being the most trusting person in the world, but I have to believe in the work. With regard to Tarses' often-stated desire to create a network identity for ABC that is younger, more urban, hipper, he says, somewhat surprisingly: ''Jamie doesn't really know. Upstart broadcast competitors the scrappy Fox, UPN, the WB were siphoning young adult viewers away from the US Big Three networks. Then, as part of a restructuring, yet another manager, Lloyd Braun, was placed over her in what was essentially a demotion. Jamie Tarses, one of the most dynamic television executives of her era who helped build NBC's Must-See TV lineup and went on to become the first woman to lead a Big Three network programming . They have three children. [22] In 2010, she produced several television series, including Mr. Sunshine, Happy Endings, and Franklin & Bash. ''He was fun to play with. ''Bloomberg was being told by the boyfriend how to do his job.''. He swiftly promoted Tarses to the networks comedy development department, where she worked on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which turned Will Smith into a household name; the oddball Wings, set at a New England airport; and Blossom, centered on a teenage Mayim Bialik. I just dont want to play anymore, she told The Los Angeles Times when she left ABC. "Women are emotional,. Already a member? She worries that onetime friends from her fast-rising years at NBC -- where, as programmer and No. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. [15], In 2005, Tarses partnered on a production company called Pariah Productions with producer Gavin Polone. It's April 3, six weeks before the announcement of ABC's fall '97 schedule, and Tarses, wearing a black suit with a blue shirt, is engulfed by a black leather chair behind a very cluttered desk in her office, which looks out over the Century Plaza Hotel. Sara James Tarses was an American television producer and television studio executive. Tarses had made it through scheduling and then a meeting with the affiliates in Florida. ''We're $(expletive$),'' she says. What's wrong? Tarses is pleased with her response. Iger seems certain of Tarses, certain of the future. First the sexual harassment charges; now this. (Her brother, Matt, is also a producer. ", Women:50 most powerful women in entertainment, In 1996, Tarses was appointed president of ABC Entertainment, one of the youngest executives to lead a large network entertainment division. '', Distrust, or What She Learned From Dad And Dean Valentine. He began talking to Ms. Tarses about taking over ABC. During his years as head of Creative Artists Agency, which he built into the most powerful talent agency in Hollywood, Ovitz had mastered the art of extricating clients from long-term contracts and wasn't overly concerned. She was 56. Tarses had a stroke in the fall of 2020, spent time in a coma, and then died in Los Angeles on February 1, 2021, at age 56 from what a family spokesperson called "complications of a cardiac event". She runs paranoid scenarios through her mind, over and over. In the weeks that follow she will decide to stay at her job at least for a while, and ABC will issue statements maintaining that the new, arrangement is going to work just fine.