Grant Tinker, longtime studio executive dead at age 90

Former NBC chairman-CEO Grant Tinker, and founder of MTM Enterprises with Mary Tyler Moore, has died. He was 90.

The Tinker family lived in the valley and his sons went to valley schools.

“Grant Tinker was a great man who made an indelible mark on NBC and the history of television that continues to this day,” NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke said. “He loved creative people and protected them, while still expertly managing the business. Very few people have been able to achieve such a balance. We try to live up to the standards he set each and every day. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.”

“My father set the bar high both as a television executive and a father. I never heard anyone speak of him with anything other than respect and admiration. I’m proud to be his son and especially proud of the legacy he leaves behind in business and as a gentleman,” said Mark Tinker, who is an exec producer on NBC’s “Chicago PD.”

“The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which debuted that same year on CBS, was ground-breaking in its sophistication and the manner in which it depicted the professional life of a single career woman. 

Tinker hired two of the industry’s best writers, Brooks and Allan Burns, and for the next seven years, the show was a highlight every season, commanding 67 Emmy nominations and winning 29, including three for best comedy series.

 

The list of shows with Grant Tinker's name and MTM Studios in Studio City are pretty incredible:
The Bob Newhart Show
Rhoda
Mary Tyler Moore
Phyllis

He hired some of the best writers and creatives and let them do their work. Leaders in the industry that he worked with included:
James L. Brooks
Steven Bochco 
Jay Tarses
Tom Patchett 
Michael Zimberg

While at NBC, he nurtured shows such as:
Cheers
Family Ties
The A-Team
St. Elsewhere  
Remington Steele
The Golden Girls
The Cosby Show

Please read the terrific article in Variety magazine HERE on Grant Tinker's life. 



Post by Mike Stevens