Ben Lanzarone, the composer, arranger, musical director and pianist who wrote music for such shows as Dynasty, Happy Days, Mr. Belvedere and The Tracey Ullman Show, has died. He was 85.
Lanzarone died Friday in his Los Angeles home of lung cancer, his family announced.
The Brooklyn native toured with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Art Garfunkel, Mary Travers, Anthony Newley, Petula Clark, Lainie Kazan and Mason Williams and for Broadway served as the musical director on the original 1972-1980 production of Grease and arranger on 1972’s Via Galactica and 1975’s Truckload.
His long association with TV producers Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer resulted in scores for Dynasty, The Colbys, The Love Boat, Vega$, Matt Houston and Hotel.
And for production companies led by Thomas Miller, Edward Milkis and/or Bob Boyett, he came up with music for episodes of Happy Days (including the one in 1977 when Henry Winkler’s...
Lanzarone died Friday in his Los Angeles home of lung cancer, his family announced.
The Brooklyn native toured with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Art Garfunkel, Mary Travers, Anthony Newley, Petula Clark, Lainie Kazan and Mason Williams and for Broadway served as the musical director on the original 1972-1980 production of Grease and arranger on 1972’s Via Galactica and 1975’s Truckload.
His long association with TV producers Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer resulted in scores for Dynasty, The Colbys, The Love Boat, Vega$, Matt Houston and Hotel.
And for production companies led by Thomas Miller, Edward Milkis and/or Bob Boyett, he came up with music for episodes of Happy Days (including the one in 1977 when Henry Winkler’s...
- 2/19/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Douglas S. Cramer, a former studio executive and producer on some of television’s biggest hits over the past half century, including “Wonder Woman,” “Dynasty” and “Love Boat,” has died. He was 89.
Cramer’s death was announced in The Hollywood Reporter by former THR columnist Sue Cameron. He died of heart and kidney failure in Martha’s Vineyard on Monday.
Over his career, Cramer also worked for Procter & Gamble, ABC, 20th Century Fox and Screen Gems. He was a former head of Paramount Television in the late 1960s, and spent 14 years with Aaron Spelling’s production company. He won two Emmy awards during his career.
Cramer joined Spelling’s company in the late 1970s, after Spelling split from his producing partner Leonard Goldberg. As part of his role as executive vice president, Cramer “was not to give any interviews or do any press; that was all Aaron, his company,...
Cramer’s death was announced in The Hollywood Reporter by former THR columnist Sue Cameron. He died of heart and kidney failure in Martha’s Vineyard on Monday.
Over his career, Cramer also worked for Procter & Gamble, ABC, 20th Century Fox and Screen Gems. He was a former head of Paramount Television in the late 1960s, and spent 14 years with Aaron Spelling’s production company. He won two Emmy awards during his career.
Cramer joined Spelling’s company in the late 1970s, after Spelling split from his producing partner Leonard Goldberg. As part of his role as executive vice president, Cramer “was not to give any interviews or do any press; that was all Aaron, his company,...
- 6/7/2021
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
Douglas S. Cramer, the onetime head of Paramount Television and producing partner of Aaron Spelling who helped launch such series as Peyton Place, The Brady Bunch, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat and Dynasty, has died. He was 89.
Cramer died Monday in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts of heart and kidney failure, his close friend and former The Hollywood Reporter columnist Sue Cameron announced.
“When I was a THR columnist, nobody knew it, but he was my secret ‘legman.’ He was a genius producer with style and taste. We had so much fun together. We were friends for over 45 years,” Cameron said....
Cramer died Monday in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts of heart and kidney failure, his close friend and former The Hollywood Reporter columnist Sue Cameron announced.
“When I was a THR columnist, nobody knew it, but he was my secret ‘legman.’ He was a genius producer with style and taste. We had so much fun together. We were friends for over 45 years,” Cameron said....
Douglas S. Cramer, the onetime head of Paramount Television and producing partner of Aaron Spelling who helped launch such series as Peyton Place, The Brady Bunch, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat and Dynasty, has died. He was 89.
Cramer died Monday in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts of heart and kidney failure, his close friend and former The Hollywood Reporter columnist Sue Cameron announced.
“When I was a THR columnist, nobody knew it, but he was my secret ‘legman.’ He was a genius producer with style and taste. We had so much fun together. We were friends for over 45 years,” Cameron said....
Cramer died Monday in Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts of heart and kidney failure, his close friend and former The Hollywood Reporter columnist Sue Cameron announced.
“When I was a THR columnist, nobody knew it, but he was my secret ‘legman.’ He was a genius producer with style and taste. We had so much fun together. We were friends for over 45 years,” Cameron said....
In 1974, I was 16 and curious to see ABC try once again with super-heroes. One fine Tuesday night, I sat at and watched Wonder Woman, horrified at the liberties taken in the backdoor pilot. Cathy Lee Crosby didn’t have the looks or the costume and the most interesting thing about this was Ricardo Montalban as the heavy.
The network somehow still saw the potential in the character and commissioned a more faithful pilot, this time with a comics-accurate costume and perfect casting in Lynda Carter. In the hands of former Batman scribe Stanley Ralph Ross, the show felt right. ABC agreed and a series of Wonder Woman shows were filmed, set in World War II.
This was the beginning of the jiggle era of television, as prime time was filled with busty, often braless actors and they pandered to the women’s movement with female-led shows that didn’t fulfill their promise.
The network somehow still saw the potential in the character and commissioned a more faithful pilot, this time with a comics-accurate costume and perfect casting in Lynda Carter. In the hands of former Batman scribe Stanley Ralph Ross, the show felt right. ABC agreed and a series of Wonder Woman shows were filmed, set in World War II.
This was the beginning of the jiggle era of television, as prime time was filled with busty, often braless actors and they pandered to the women’s movement with female-led shows that didn’t fulfill their promise.
- 7/27/2020
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Wonder Woman, the beloved 1970s live-action television series starring Lynda Carter, has been remastered and is coming to Blu-ray! Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection arrives from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on July 28, 2020.
Save the world? That’s a man’s job. Then along comes star-spangled Wonder Woman with her bullet-deflecting bracelets and golden lariat to set everyone straight. With Lynda Carter staring as the title character, Season One features adventures in Wonder Woman’s original World War II era, while Seasons Two and Three whoosh forward to the disco-loving ‘70s. Times change. The need to smash evil, calamity and injustice does not.
The Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection Blu-ray box set comes complete with all 59 episodes, plus the treasured pilot movie, across 10 discs. Bonus features include:
Audio commentary of the pilot movie by Lynda Carter & executive producer Douglas S. Cramer Audio commentary by Lynda Carter on the episode, “My Teenage Idol is Missing” Featurette – Beauty,...
Save the world? That’s a man’s job. Then along comes star-spangled Wonder Woman with her bullet-deflecting bracelets and golden lariat to set everyone straight. With Lynda Carter staring as the title character, Season One features adventures in Wonder Woman’s original World War II era, while Seasons Two and Three whoosh forward to the disco-loving ‘70s. Times change. The need to smash evil, calamity and injustice does not.
The Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection Blu-ray box set comes complete with all 59 episodes, plus the treasured pilot movie, across 10 discs. Bonus features include:
Audio commentary of the pilot movie by Lynda Carter & executive producer Douglas S. Cramer Audio commentary by Lynda Carter on the episode, “My Teenage Idol is Missing” Featurette – Beauty,...
- 7/17/2020
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
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