The Resume

(September 13, 1937-January 30, 2020)
Born in New York City, New York
Executive at CBS TV (1963-70)
Vice President of CBS TV Programs (1970-75)
President of ABC TV Entertainment (1975-78)
President and CEO of NBC TV (1978-81)
Formed the Fred Silverman Company in 1981 to sell TV shows he produced to network TV
Shows he is responsible for getting aired:
'All in the Family'
'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'
'M*A*S*H'
'The Waltons'
'Good Times'
'Kojak'
'Starsky and Hutch'
'Laverne and Shirley'
'Mork and Mindy'
'Charlie's Angels'
'The Love Boat'
'Three's Company'
'Eight is Enough'
'Soap'
'Diff'rent Strokes'
'The Facts of Life'
'Hill Street Blues'

Why he might be annoying:

In 1963, during a snowstorm in Chicago, he abandoned his car, along with his job at WGN-TV, and flew to New York to try his luck with CBS.
He masterminded the 'rural purge' of 1971 - the name given to 'the year CBS killed everything with a tree in it.'
Casualties included fan favorites 'The Beverly Hillbillies,' 'Green Acres,' 'Mayberry R.F.D.' and 'Hee Haw.'
A pinwheel competition couldn't produce as many 'spin-offs' as he created.
Critics point out that his tenure at ABC was catering to the 'lowest common denominator,' authorizing shows with sex and violence galore over quality programming.
After great success at other networks, he approved so many bad shows for NBC that Johnny Carson quipped on his show that NBC stood for 'Nine Bombs Cancelled.'
He smokes.

Why he might not be annoying:

He graduated with a Master's degree from Ohio State University.
After doing his thesis on 10 years worth of analyzed programming practices at ABC, he landed a job at the station's mail room.
He became a major exec/whiz kid for CBS at age 25.
After astounding success at CBS, he was hired by ABC to help sagging ratings.
He is credited with saving 'Happy Days' from cancellation and boosting ABC ratings position from 3rd to 1st place.
He had such an uncanny knack for knowing what viewers wanted to watch, during his CBS and ABC tenures that he was nicknamed 'the man with the golden gut.'
Keeping his humility in check, he allowed John Belushi to impersonate him on 'SNL' while president/CEO of NBC.
He green lighted the highly rated TV mini-series 'Roots (1977)' and Shogun '(1980).'
His independent company has given TV viewers 'Matlock,' 'In the Heat of the Night' and 'Diagnosis Murder.'
Fred 'Freddie' Jones of 'Scooby Doo, Where Are You?' fame is named after him.

Credit: Scar Tactics

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Buddy! Dude! Man! Guy!
• Bushy Eyebrows
• Coolest Jews in Hollywood
• Droopy Eyes
• Eye Baggage
• Gold, Silver and Bronze
• I Attended Ohio State University
• I Come from Queens
• I Died in 2020 (Ranked: 82)
• I Married in 1971
• I Portrayed Myself
• I'm Buried at Mount Sinai Jewish Cemetery [Hollywood, Ca]
• Look at Me, I Got My Hands Up
• Look at Me, I'm on the Cover of Time
• Look at Me, It's This Big
• Look at Me, I've Been Caught Smoking
• Look at My Magazine Cover
• Members of the Television Hall of Fame (Ranked: 14)
• My Name, My Company
• Panda/Raccoon Eyes
• People Magazine's 25 Most Intriguing People [1976]
• Profiles 27251-27500 (Ranked: 27427)
• Rural Purge [TV Cancellations]
• Scar Tactics' Profiles [Series 08]
• Snaggle Tooth
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 20200130)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 34 Votes: 61.76% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 22 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 187 Votes: 62.03% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 18 Votes: 61.11% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying