Don Ohlmeyer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Donald Winfred Ohlmeyer Jr. (1945-02-03)February 3, 1945 New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | September 10, 2017(2017-09-10) (aged 72) Indian Wells, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Notre Dame |
| Occupation(s) | Entertainment executive, live broadcast director, liberal arts professor |
| Spouse | Linda Jonsson |
| Children | 4 |
Donald Winfred Ohlmeyer Jr. (February 3, 1945 – September 10, 2017) was an Americantelevision producer and president of theNBC network's west coast division. He firedNorm Macdonald fromSaturday Night Live in early 1998, a move that is widely believed to have been motivated by Macdonald's refusal to stop making jokes at the expense of Ohlmeyer's friendO. J. Simpson.[1][2]
Ohlmeyer also directedthe Olympics and other live sporting events while working forABC andESPN. He was a professor of television communications atPepperdine University inMalibu, California.
Born inNew Orleans, Louisiana, Ohlmeyer grew up in theChicago area and attendedGlenbrook North High School. He graduated from theUniversity of Notre Dame in 1967.[3]
Ohlmeyer began his career withABC Sports. A disciple ofRoone Arledge, he worked onWide World of Sports, was the first hired producer ofMonday Night Football, broughtSuperstars to television, and also produced and directed threeOlympics broadcasts (including theMunich Olympics).
Ohlmeyer later moved to NBC as executive producer of the network'ssports division, a position he held from 1977 to 1982. Over those five years, he created the popular sports anthology seriesSportsWorld and served as Executive Producer of NBC coverage of theSuper Bowl andWorld Series. He also earned notoriety for the prime-time seriesGames People Play and the made-for-television movieThe Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story. Ohlmeyer became well known for expanding the network's sports coverage as well as introducing innovative production techniques. He launchedNFL Updates, NCAA Basketball 'Whip-arounds,' and instituted NBC's live coverage ofBreakfast atWimbledon. Ohlmeyer is credited with conceiving the one-time experiment of airing a1980NFL telecastwithout announcers.[4]
Ohlmeyer formed his own production company, Ohlmeyer Communications Company (OCC), in 1982. While there he produced several made-for-television movies, network series, and specials. He won anEmmy forSpecial Bulletin, a harrowing 1983 depiction of nuclear terrorism. His company was also responsible for producingCARTIndyCar World Series race telecasts, and golf, including PGA Tour events, "The Skins Game", and Senior PGA TOUR broadcasts. While at OCC, Ohlmeyer also oversawNabisco's 20% stake in ESPN.[5] Ohlmeyer also gained a 49% controlling interest inHockey Night in Canada starting in 1986,[citation needed] taking over the Canadian Sports Network that ran the program under theMacLaren Advertising agency.[6] He later sold his interest to Molstar Communications, the company which already possessed the other 51%.[citation needed]
Ohlmeyer returned to NBC in 1993 to become president of its West Coast division at a time when the network was in third place in the ratings, following the conclusion of popular shows such asCheers andThe Cosby Show. During his tenure, NBC returned to first place with such hits asSeinfeld,Friends,ER,Homicide,Frasier,Providence,Will & Grace, andLate Night with Conan O'Brien. While Ohlmeyer was at the helm of NBC, it was the only profitable national network in America. Ohlmeyer also spearheaded NBC's adoption of an aggressive promotional campaign tobrand the network such as superimposing the Peacock logo in the corner of the screen and coining the phrase "Must See TV."[7]
During the1997 World Series, Ohlmeyer caused a stir when he publicly wished that theWorld Series would end in a four-game sweep so that its low ratings wouldn't derail NBC's primetime leading Thursday "Must See TV" entertainment schedule.[8] The series went the full seven games.
In early 1998, Ohlmeyer hadNorm Macdonald fired from his role as anchor ofSaturday Night Live's popularWeekend Update segment, claiming supposedly declining ratings and a drop-off in quality as the reason. It is widely speculated that the actual reason for the decision was retaliation for Macdonald's inclusion of a series of scathing jokes callingO. J. Simpson a murderer during and after hismurder trial (1994–95).[9][2] The jokes were written primarily by Macdonald and longtimeSNL writerJim Downey, who was fired fromSNL outright at the same time (Downey was rehired in 2000). Downey said later that Ohlmeyer and Simpson were good friends.[10]
Shortly after Macdonald was taken off theWeekend Update desk,David Letterman (during a taping of theLate Show) called Ohlmeyer an "idiot" and made a reference to hisalcoholism by labelling him "Happy Hour Don".[11] Letterman later reconsidered and had the remarks removed for broadcast, but the comment was publicized shortly thereafter in a report in theNew York Post.[12] During subsequent televised interviews with Macdonald, Letterman stated that Ohlmeyer "fancies himself creative" and disparaged that notion, saying "Here's a man who could not create gas after a bean dinner".[13]
In an appearance onLive with Regis and Kathie Lee, Macdonald said, "Ohlmeyer is best friends with O.J. Simpson. If he can like O.J. Simpson, he can like me."[14]
Ohlmeyer's animosity toward Macdonald continued when he caused NBC to block a promo spot for Macdonald's 1998 filmDirty Work from airing and would not allow the film studio to buy air time during other times to promote the film.[15] Ohlmeyer said, "I just don't think it would be appropriate for us to turn around and take a check for a movie that's promoting somebody who has badmouthedSaturday Night Live and NBC."[16] However, Ohlmeyer was later overruled by his bosses.[17]
In September 2021, following Macdonald's death,Late Night hostConan O'Brien revealed that Ohlmeyer had ordered him to stop booking Macdonald as a guest. O'Brien protested and ultimately won out, later booking him numerous times in the years that followed while he was at NBC.[18]
After his time at NBC, Ohlmeyer was lured out of retirement in 2000 to spark interest and provide some vigor to theMNF broadcast. Besides the on-air talent, Ohlmeyer's changes included clips of players introducing themselves, new graphics, use of a sidelineSteadicam, and music. In another temporary change, thescore bug used nicknames of teams, such as "Skins" and "Fins", instead of the teams' actual names or cities (the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins, in this instance). He also made the controversial decision to hire comedianDennis Miller to joinAl Michaels andDan Fouts in the broadcast booth, an experiment since widely regarded as a failure.[19][20][21][22]
Ohlmeyer leftMonday Night Football after one season. Ratings for the program had dropped 7% compared to the previous year.[23]
He later served asombudsman for ESPN.com for 18 months between 2009 and 2011.[24]
After a month of poor health, Ohlmeyer died from cancer inIndian Wells, California, on September 10, 2017, at the age of 72.[25][26]
In 1996, Ohlmeyer was admitted into rehab foralcohol abuse.[27]
Jamie Tarses, an executive at NBC, had accused Ohlmeyer ofsexual harassment. Both parties refused to talk about it on the record, and charges were dropped. Tarses was let out of her contract and became president atABC.[28]
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Ohlmeyer was honored with 16Emmys, including theLifetime Achievement Award, twoPeabody Awards,Cine Golden Eagle Award,Miami International Film Festival Award,National Film Board Award,Glaad Media Award, and threeHumanitas Prizes. In 2007, he received theLifetime Achievement in Sports Broadcasting from theAcademy of Television Arts & Sciences, and in 2008 was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
| Business positions | ||
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| Preceded by position established | President, West CoastNBC 1993-1999 | Succeeded by |
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