Ed Spielman (born inBrooklyn, New York City, US)[1] is a writer and executive producer for television and film, an author and journalist. He is thecreator of the Emmy Award winning TV seriesKung Fu.[2][3] Spielman wrote thestory andteleplay for the series pilot (which was co-written with his friend Howard Friedlander). The pilot ofKung Fu has been credited as "the first American Martial Arts film."[1]
On the week ending May 6, 1973,Kung Fu became the No. 1 show on US television, drawing a regular audience of 28 million viewers.
He also created the Emmy Award winning TV seriesThe Young Riders starringStephen Baldwin andJosh Brolin. Another of his television series,Dead Man's Gun (which debuted on Showtime in 1997, and which he produced in partnership with MGM Productions, Henry Winkler, Howard Spielman, and Sugar Entertainment, Ltd.) was nominated for three cable ACE Awards (including Best Dramatic Series) and received six LEO nominations.[1][4]
Spielman has the rare distinction of being the only writer/producer in television history to have created and placed a Western series on the air — every decade for thirty years — at a time when Westerns were not even in vogue.
Spielman authored a biography of adventurer and health philosopherJoe Greenstein titledThe Mighty Atom: The Life and Times of Joseph L. Greenstein,[5][6] released in 1979.[7] According to a reviewer with theAmerican Library Association,The Mighty Atom was "one of the year's best books.".[1] The book was later rereleased asThe Spiritual Journey of Joseph L. Greenstein: The Mighty Atom, World's Strongest Man.[6][8]
TheNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum has awarded Spielman personally the Western Heritage Award four times, and his shows seven times.[1][9]
Spielman is currently an executive producer developing his originalKung Fu television series into a feature film at Universal Pictures. A life-long classic car and Italian motorcycle enthusiast, he is a member of the Ventura Sports & Race Car Club and he is the Master of Ceremonies at their yearly concours events. Spielman lives in Southern California with Bonnie (his wife of 50 years), a house full of rescued pets and a small fleet of vintage cars and motorcycles.