Grant Tinker

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Grant Tinker
Peabody Awards, May 2005
Born
Grant Almerin Tinker

(1926-01-11)January 11, 1926
DiedNovember 28, 2016(2016-11-28) (aged 90)
Alma materDartmouth College
Occupation(s)Television producer and executive
Known forCEO of NBC (1981–86)
Spouses
Ruth Byerly
(m. 1950; div. 1962)
(m. 1962; div. 1981)
(m. 2004)
Children4, including Mark and John Tinker
RelativesZach Tinker (grandson)
AwardsTelevision Hall of Fame (1997)

Grant Almerin Tinker (January 11, 1926 – November 28, 2016) was an American television executive who served as chairman and CEO of NBC from 1981 to 1986. Additionally, he was a co-founder of MTM Enterprises and a television producer.

Life and career

Tinker was born in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Margaret (née Hessin) and Arthur Almerin Tinker.[1][2] He had a younger sister, Joan.[3]

During World War II, Tinker served in the United States Army Air Forces Reserve. He graduated from Dartmouth College. His sons, Mark and John, are also television producers.[citation needed]

In 1961, Tinker rejoined NBC and was the head of West Coast programming, where he was involved in developing I Spy, Dr. Kildare, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,[4] the original Star Trek, and Get Smart.[citation needed]

Tinker married Mary Tyler Moore in 1962. He left NBC in 1967 to join Universal Television,

Nielsen ratings and profits). During Tinker's tenure in NBC's top position, the network regained ratings and commissioned The Cosby Show, Family Ties, The Golden Girls, Cheers, Night Court, and Hill Street Blues. Tinker left the network in 1986, shortly after its parent company RCA was bought by General Electric.[citation needed
]

After leaving NBC, Tinker tried to repeat his success with MTM by forming GTG (Grant Tinker-

Gannett) Entertainment (formerly T/G Productions), but the business venture failed and the company closed in 1990.[citation needed] The company then partnered with CBS to create a long-term agreement to provide access to the output provided by GTG Entertainment, and it was an exclusive agreement handled between CBS and GTG.[8] The company had also set up subsidiaries like the syndicated television branch GTG Marketing, its East Coast production arm GTG East and the West Coast production arm GTG West, with the first production being produced by the GTG East branch was a syndicated version of the popular USA Today magazine, USA Today on TV, which was distributed to syndicated markets by the GTG Marketing division.[9]

Personal life

Tinker was married three times. In 1950, he married Ruth Byerly, with whom he had three sons and a daughter: Mark (b. 1951), Mike (b. 1952), Jodie (b. 1954) and John (b. 1958).[10] Mark and John are successful producers. Tinker's marriage to Byerly ended in divorce in 1962.[10] Later that same year, Tinker married actress Mary Tyler Moore. This marriage also ended in divorce in 1981, though they had separated in 1979, following a 1973 breakup and patch-up. Tinker's third marriage was in 2004 to aviator Brooke Knapp, to whom he remained married until his death in 2016.[citation needed]

Death

Tinker died at his Los Angeles home on November 28, 2016, at the age of 90.[4]

He is buried at Hillside Cemetery in North Adams, Massachusetts.[citation needed]

Awards and honors

  • Tinker was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1997.
  • In 2004, Tinker won a personal
    Peabody Award "for recognizing, protecting, and fostering creativity of the highest order."[11]

References

  1. . Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  2. ^ "Arthur Almerin Tinker". longislandsurnames.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  3. ^ Naughton, Nora (2016-12-07). "Stamford's King School helped shape TV legend Grant Tinker". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  4. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  5. ^ "Week's Headliner" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1967-02-06. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  6. ^ "Fates & Fortunes" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1969-03-31. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  7. ^ "Tinker severs ties with Fox" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1971-01-18. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  8. ^ Kaufman, Dave (1987-01-28). "A Marriage Made In Sitcom Heaven; Tinker & CBS Pact". Variety. pp. 37, 59.
  9. ^ "Tinker & GTG Ride High On 'USA Today' '88 Strip; New 'Feud' Leads Gamers". Variety. 1987-09-30. pp. 38, 114.
  10. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  11. Peabody Award
    . Winter 2004.

Further reading

External links

Business positions
Preceded by CEO of NBC
1981–1986
Succeeded by