Fred Silverman: From Archie to Angels and beyond
Fred Silverman molded a generation of television.
It was the last three-network generation, the final one totally dominated by CBS, ABC and NBC. And Silverman – who died of cancer Thursday at 82 — ran all three.
Ranging from chimps and “Charlie’s Angels” (shown here) to Archie Bunker and “Hill Street Blues,” he was the master of big-tent TV. “Fred was one of the few people I’ve ever known who laughed where the laugh track laughed and got misty watching a daytime soap opera,” former NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff wrote in “The Last Great Ride” (1982). “He truly loved television.” Read more…