Jamie Tarses, the first woman to lead an online entertainment division, died Monday morning from complications from a heart attack she suffered last fall. He was 56 years old.
The road manufacturer’s family has confirmed her passing, Deadline reported.
Before exploding through the glass ceilings for female TV directors, Tarses played a major role in the development of modern television classics, including two temple entrances to NBC’s iconic Thursday night “must-see TV” line: ” Friends ”and“ Frasier. ”
Despite being a mega-player of power, Tarses humbly said, “[I’m] a real fan of the environment. I love television, I really do. ”
Her rise to that power was unusually rapid. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts in 1985 with a degree in theater and quickly landed a low-profile job as an assistant on Saturday Night Live, followed by an internship as a casting director for Lorimar Productions.
After successfully overseeing the production of NBC hits “Cheers” and “A Different World,” she went on to develop a series of beloved network hits, such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Wings.” “,” NewsRadio “,” Mad About You “and” Blossom “.
Tarses was promoted in 1994 to senior vice president of the primetime series – becoming its commander to then-NBC entertainment president Warren Littlefield, who said that “his development skills were extraordinary.”
In a statement to Deadline, Littlefield said: “In her days on NBC, surrounded by superstar directors, she stood out. He had the ability to make writers feel safe and make the most of them. He fought for them. Understanding the wishes and needs of writers probably began with growing up in a household with her father, who wrote and produced comedies. She perfected this understanding as she became a development executive. ”
Unfortunately, her reign on NBC will last only 11 months. “When she left NBC, I knew she would be missed, but the opportunity hit ABC,” Littlefield said.
Tarses was just 32 when she was named president of ABC Entertainment in June 1996.
“At a time when all the big networks were losing young viewers, Mrs. Tarses seemed to speak the language of that coveted audience,” the Wall Street Journal wrote at the time. “He had what is known in the language of TV programming as ‘taste’ or the ability to recognize hot ideas, writers and celebrities.”
After helping to release hits such as “Dharma & Greg”, “Spin City”, “Sports Night” and “The Practice”, Tarses resigned in 1999 amid the corporate restructuring of ABC’s parent company, Disney.
“Jamie was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word,” Karey Burke, the current president of the 20th Disney Television and former president of ABC Entertainment, told the Hollywood Reporter. “She shattered stereotypes and ideas about what an executive woman could accomplish and paved the way for others, at a cost to herself. He was a mentor and friend and many of us owe him so much.
“As an executive and producer, she was a champion for storytellers, being raised by one of the greatest of all time,” Burke said. “Her talent and contribution to our community will be missed exclusively.”
Tarses held several executive producer roles during the 2000s. Her latest project, “The Mysterious Benedict Society,” is currently listed as post-production for the Disney + streaming service.
She is survived by her partner Paddy Aubrey; their children, Wyatt and Sloane; her parents, Jay and Rachel Tarses; her brothers, Matt and Mallory Tarses; her sister-in-law, Katie Tarses; three nieces; and a grandson. The Tarses family said donations could be made in her honor for the Young Storytellers project.