Aaron Spelling Pics

Aaron

Spelling

22 April 1923

Dallas, Texas

Taurus

23 June 2006

Los Angeles, California

complications from a stroke

Jewish

Gunsmoke

Male

White

Polish

Slim

Grey

Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 – June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits. Forbes ranked him the 11th top-earning dead celebrity in 2009.

Producer, Writer, Actor/Actress

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Spelling was born in Dallas, Texas, to Polish Jewish immigrant parents. At the age of eight, Spelling lost the use of his legs psychosomatically due to trauma caused by constant bullying from his schoolmates, and was confined to bed for a year. Spelling attended Forest Avenue High School. He served in the United States Army Air Force and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. He then attended Southern Methodist University, graduating in 1949. He married actress Carolyn Jones in 1953, and they moved to California. He has two children, Randy Spelling and Tori Spelling, who acted as "Donna" in his show Beverly Hills, 90210. His grandson, Liam Aaron McDermott, son of daughter Tori and her husband, actor Dean McDermott was born posthumusly. Liam`s second name is in honor of his grandfather. Hollywood career and life Spelling sold his first script to Jane Wyman Theater in 1954. He went on to write for Dick Powell, Playhouse 90, and Last Man, amongst others. Later, he also found work as an actor. In total he played screen parts in 22 programs (in several shows, a few episodes, yet none of his flagships) and perhaps the best known being Gunsmoke between 1956 and 1997. During the 1950s, Spelling joined Powell`s Four Star Productions. After Powell`s death, Spelling formed Thomas-Spelling Productions with Danny Thomas. Their first success was with the television show The Mod Squad. In total he wrote for 14 television productions between 1957 and 1974, including several series with multiple episodes to his credit. He also began a collaboration at this time with associate producer Shelley Hull, who, aside from "The Mod Squad", worked with Spelling on "The Rookies" and "Charlie`s Angels." Hull also worked with Spelling in 1976 on the hit ABC movie "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble", starring a young John Travolta. Spelling directed only once, on "The Conchita Vasquez Story", a 1959 TV Episode of Wagon Train. Spelling divorced Jones in 1965 and in 1968 he married Carole Gene Marer, who took his name as Candy Spelling. He was father of Victoria Davey Spelling and Randall Gene Spelling, both of whom became actors as teenagers, as Tori Spelling and Randy Spelling. They appeared in several of their father`s productions, most notably in Beverly Hills, 90210. The pivotal moment for the maturation of Spelling was the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970. Spelling knew two of the students who had been killed, and even claimed to see one student, Allison Krause, with exit wounds from the M1 Garand rifle. At this moment, Spelling claims he changed the idea of television comedy into a tragic concept. In 1991, Spelling bought the home and six acre lot of Bing Crosby`s former Los Angeles house. He demolished the property, and built a 123-room home for the cost of USD $47,000,000, named "The Manor", which has 56,500 square feet of floor space and is the largest single-family dwelling in Hollywood (34°4`23"N 118°25`41"W). In 1972, he created Aaron Spelling Productions, and formed another co-production company with Leonard Goldberg. Spelling took his own company public in 1986 as Spelling Entertainment. Spelling also produced the NBC daytime soap opera Sunset Beach from 1997 to 1999, and in one of his few acting roles since the 1960s, played one of Bette`s (Kathleen Noone) ex-husbands for one day in 1997. He also appeared as himself on 27 programs between 1992 and 2005. After 2000, Spelling rarely gave serious interviews, and control of the Spelling Television company has been directed by his business partner E. Duke Vincent and the company`s president, Jonathan Levin. In 2004, Spelling was portrayed by Dan Castellaneta in the NBC film "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie`s Angels". On January 15, 2006 "Charmed" became the longest running show with all female leads, surpassing "Laverne and Shirley". On April 4, 2007 it was announced that "7th Heaven`s" series finale on May 13, 2007 would be dedicated to Aaron Spelling. Already every single episode from Season 11, read these words at the beginning of the closing credits: "In memory of Aaron Spelling". [edit] Notable productions Spelling worked in some capacity on almost 200 productions beginning with the Zane Grey Theatre in 1956. His most recognizable contributions to television include Beverly Hills 90210 and its adult spin-off Melrose Place with Heather Locklear, Starsky and Hutch, Family, Hotel, The Rookies, Charlie`s Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Vega$, Hart to Hart, Dynasty, The Colbys, T.J. Hooker, Nightingales, Kindred: The Embraced, 7th Heaven, Charmed, Burke`s Law, Honey West, The Mod Squad, and S.W.A.T.. His company also co-produced the David Lynch series Twin Peaks (although Spelling himself was not directly involved in its production). He also produced the NBC TV series Titans with

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Spelling

Forest Avenue High School

U.S. Air Force, Southern Methodist University

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