Jamie Kellner, who introduced every Fox and WB show, dies at 77

Jamie Kellner, who made his name as the only executive to build two broadcast networks — Fox and The WB (one of which also achieved profitability under his watch), died Friday at his home in Montecito, Calif. Went. He was 77 years old. Kellner had an incredible influence on the television industry in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, and was regarded as an entrepreneur at the center as he created Fox and The WB, and independently founded Acme Communications. Teamed up the stations, and ran Turner Broadcasting as chairman and CEO (succeeding Ted Turner) for an era.

Kellner’s work at Fox includes such landmark programs as “The Simpsons,” “Married… with Children,” “Cops,” “In Living Color” and “21 Jump Street”; the long-term growth of dad cultural touchstones like “Dawson’s Creek,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Gilmore Girls,” “7th Heaven” and “Felicity” on The WB; And he also worked with Lorne Michaels in the first syndication sale of the “Saturday Night Live” generation at Orion. He was also important to the early careers of creatives such as Greg Berlanti, JJ Abrams, Kevin Williamson and Joss Whedon, and comedy stars such as Jamie Foxx, Steve Harvey and the Wayans Brothers.

“Jamie Kellner was a titan and a visionary in our industry and yet those lucky enough to have him working as an executive or a showrunner were a warm, funny, charismatic, creative and compassionate mentor, friend, husband. Will be remembered by the people. Dad,” said producer Greg Berlanti. “He dedicated his life in TV to fostering and nurturing generations of talent both in front of and behind the camera. I know I speak for many others when I say that my life was changed by the Camelot-esque home he built for all of us who worked at The WB. He will be greatly missed.”

Kellner retired at the age of 57 – he had a stake in The WB when it was launched as a joint partnership between him, Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. However his legacy still looms large today with both Fox and The CW ending in the 2006 merger between The WB and UPN.

The executive handed out alternative options to get back to the company suite. He, in turn, settled into his home turf in the posh Santa Barbara suburb of Montecito with his wife, Julie, a generation indulging in alternative hobbies – including sailing around the world on his ketch named “Irishman”, various rounds of golf. Play and included. Opening of a vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley, Sant’Anne. Kellner, fond of architecture, additionally designed and built various properties.

Kellner nevertheless brought a generational saving grace to the TV industry. Ultimately, he joined another early Fox alumnus, Preston Padden, in sending a letter to the FCC, including his insistence on a petition to deny the broadcast license renewal of Fox’s Philadelphia station WTXF.

“Unlike the news feed provided today by Fox News Channel, our news feed does not prominently feature advocates like Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who peddle nonsensical lies about the presidential election… if that is not the case for broadcast licensees. If the requirement is to make any sense, the FCC must do so, he wrote on ERA.

Kellner has always been somewhat of a maverick in the TV industry. He had already been a syndication executive and alumnus of CBS, Viacom and Orion when he was hired by Rupert Murdoch and Barry Diller to be the backup that would replace Fox. Kellner was named the primary chairman and chief executive officer of Fox Broadcasting Company in February 1986 – a few months before “The Late Show with Joan Rivers” was announced, and before the arrival of the actual primetime layout (“21 Jump Street,” “Married…with children”).

Kellner, together with lieutenants such as Garth Ancier (who would additionally backup him as WB), helped Fox’s recent acquisition of Metromedia stations in major markets such as New York and Los Angeles separate TV stations across the country. Applied to give sound. A fourth community.

Ancier once explained, “Jamie had a syndication background that was invaluable in knowing which stations and which alliances would make sense, and in making everything work.” selection, “He guided us all through it.”

There were many people in the industry who argued that a fourth community would never work – and that included Kellner’s mother. “When I told my mother I was quitting my job to start the Fox Network, she told me there was no way that would ever be successful,” he once informed TV business Digital Media.

Kellner additionally introduced the Fox Children’s Community generation there; He left in early 1993 and, shortly after, began talks with Warner Bros. about launching a 5th community. He and Warner Bros. entered into a battle for stations and programming with Paramount and the Chris-Craft station staff (who were developing UPN), launching in 1995.

Early on, it seemed like UPN had control – especially when it started with a bad luck: the premiere of “Star Trek: Voyager.” However, The WB had the advantage of strong Tribune stations and eventually found its footing through shows focused on teens and the twentysomething generation with shows like “Dawson’s Creek,” “7th Heaven” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” This culminated in a pivotal event in 1997 when The WB poached several key Sinclair Broadcasting affiliates from UPN.

Symbolic of a day when broadcast leaders displayed a lot of showmanship, Kellner enjoyed a classic fight – taking on TiVo, for example, when that time-changing era impacted advertising revenue for broadcasters. Had threatened to do. He was once a big proponent of promoting the virtues of repurposing, much to the dismay of some advertisers. Internally, too, they faced difficulty getting Warner Bros. TV to pay some attention to The WB and, at Turner, clashed with Warner Bros. Distribution over reruns of WB shows on TNT. And in a major clash with 20th Century Fox TV, he refused to pay big dollars to reboot “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” — which was later snapped up by UPN.

Kellner admitted, “I have a lot of ideas that some people embrace and others don’t.” selection in 2003. “If I believe in something, I do it and say it. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, and if I’m right, I’m right.”

He was also not afraid of taking risks. Kellner moved with his society to Atlanta following the merger of AOL and Day Warner in 2001 at the request of then-COO Bob Pittman to enter Turner Broadcasting, including TNT, TBS, CNN, Cool Animated Film Network, TNT Sports, and more. Atlanta Braves, Hawks and NHL Thrashers. He helped reshape CNN to compete against rivals Fox News and MSNBC in the process. The Turner gig was a different beast, as Kellner was forced to re-shape a pre-existing property for the first generation – and challenged a bit.

Kellner moved to the Los Angeles department again in 2003 – and specifically, Montecito – and ended his tenure at The WB in 2004. “I think it’s fair to say that my intention is to end my career at that point,” Kellner said on The Era. “I don’t think WB will need me after 2004. There’s a good management team there. It’s better for them, better for me.”

Then, he added, “This is totally about a guy who now wants to spend more time with his family after licking my ass over and over again for 35 years.”

He did this in November 2002 to sell his WB stake again to Warner Bros. and Tribune. However Kellner continued to run the Acme station staff, which he had launched independently in 1997 and boasted 12 stations at its peak. In markets including St. Louis; Albuquerque-Santa Fe; Salem-Portland, Ore.; and Citadel Myers-Naples, Florida. The company introduced its last station in 2012.

Kellner was such a TV titan in the late 1990s and early 2000s that even his look was iconic. The executive, who was once interested in growth brands, had his own: He wore the same outfit to work every time without fail. Blue blouse, khaki pants.

“It’s consistent — and one of the qualifications of being a brand is to be consistent,” Kellner noted about his daily uniform.

Kellner’s experience fighting for praise in the broadcast, Hollywood and promotional communities – first at Fox and then at The WB – gave him the kind of confidence and awe from others that few other TV professionals can claim.

“Jamie was my mentor, my colleague, and most of all, my friend – he loved life, Julie and their children, as well as great food and wine,” said Ancier, former WB president. selection, “Jamie sparked my interest in wine, and even built his own winery near Santa Barbara, dedicated to the Italian varieties he enjoyed so much. His contribution to the television industry is great. From founding Fox Broadcasting and The WB, to running Turner Broadcasting and CNN… he approached each challenge with the same enthusiasm he had in his own life. I will miss him very much.”

Another executive who worked with Kellner at Fox, The WB and Turner was Brad Turrell, who led exposure and corporate communications: “Jamie Kellner was a hero in my life, someone I look up to as a mentor and close friend. Loved it very much,” Turrell said. “Shaped by the exciting but difficult and tumultuous environment at Fox’s launch, Kellner has created a unique, supportive and creatively freewheeling home at The WB, working under his brilliant, steady and uplifting leadership style.” Everyone listed as having the greatest career experience has given you tremendous freedom as a boss and mentor, empowering you to make bold, decisive decisions. Never compromised, but forged new paths to success, guiding and supporting you and, as he often said, ‘keeping the car on the road’ if we ever had to change direction, as That young executives have to do. Jamie was just a tremendous boss, human being and lifelong friend.

Added former WB CEO Jordan Levin, who was closest to Kellner’s departure: “It’s hard to believe. Jamie was always young. He was one of the most practical and entrepreneurial people I have ever met,” said Levin, now a full-time schoolmaster at the College of Texas at Austin. “A true visionary who launched two of the five broadcast networks and revolutionized our business. A self-made man who enjoyed every step. A wonderful and passionate leader who was smart enough to know when to get out when the getting was good. I’m so lucky to have known them and laughed so much together. Truly a legend.”

Former WB EVP and COO, John D. Matta, noted: “Jamie Kellner was the perfect model of a CEO. Always smart, sometimes irritable, always thinking and often smiling, Jamie made the authorities so lucky that they did a lot of work for him. He would end the conversation with, ‘Do we know what we’re doing?’ There’s no anger when things don’t work out as planned (and sometimes they don’t), just ‘we’ll do it differently next time.’ The environment that Jamie Kellner and Garth Ancier created at WB was a once-in-a-career moment that I will always be grateful for.

Kellner is survived by his wife of 38 years, Julie, daughter Melissa, son Christopher and three grandchildren Jake, Scarlett and Oliver. Instead of donations, Kellner’s society “asks you to open a large bottle of wine in his honor.”