Jac Venza | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Venza in 2004 | |
| Born | (1926-12-23)December 23, 1926 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | May 28, 2024(2024-05-28) (aged 97) Lyme, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | Television producer |
| Years active | 1950s–2005 |
| Spouse | Daniel Routhier |
Jac Venza (December 23, 1926 – May 28, 2024) was an Americanpublic television producer who was directly responsible for most of the theatre and music programs that have been seen onPBS from its creation in 1970. From the early 1960s until his retirement in 2005, Venza brought such programs asNET Playhouse,Live from Lincoln Center,American Playhouse,American Masters, andGreat Performances to millions of viewers. He won a PersonalPeabody Award in 1998.[1]
Jac Venza was born inChicago, Illinois, on December 23, 1926.[2][3][4] He began his career onCBS in the 1950s, where he began to notice the scarcity of programming devoted to thefine arts on television. It was his dream to bring more of it to the home screen on a regular basis, but he did not receive a full opportunity to do so until the creation ofNational Educational Television, where it soon became possible, thanks largely to Venza, to see great dramatic literature regularly performed by some of the world's most renowned actors. A then-unknownDustin Hoffman made his first major television appearance in a play—Ronald Ribman'sThe Journey of the Fifth Horse—on NET in 1966.NET Playhouse was perhaps the first television anthology to present commercial-free, full-length productions (rather than one-hour or ninety-minute adaptations) of theatrical classics such asArthur Miller's adaptation ofIbsen'sAn Enemy of the People. When NET became PBS, Venza quickly launchedGreat Performances, which is still running today.
Upon his retirement from PBS, theCorporation for Public Broadcasting awarded Venza theRalph Lowell medal. He held the record for the mostEmmy nominations for an individual—fifty-seven—until 2010.
Venza died in Lyme, Connecticut on May 28, 2024, at the age of 97.[2][5][6] He was married to Daniel Routhier.[2]
the profession he still holds at the age of 68.
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