TV innovator Aaron Spelling dies at 83

LOS ANGELES - Aaron Spelling, a onetime movie bit player who turned to television production and created a massive number of hit series, from the vintage “Charlie’s Angels” and “Dynasty” to “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Melrose Place,” died Friday, his publicist said. He was 83.

Spelling died at his home in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke on June 18, according to publicist Kevin Sasaki.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13464007/

:(

Always looking out for the little guy. :eyes:

:sarcasm:

BTW, it's Democratic party, not "Democrat" party.

Hey like no matter how effing screwed up his estate turns out they will never be able to take away our memories.


http://sparklepony.blogspot.com/2005_06_01_sparklepony_archive.html
http://mediamatters.org/items/200506070003


Btw, you can be sure the old guy would rather have us party than be all sad and vindictive anyway

He seemed like a halfway decent guy, and he did have a long career in the movie industry.

they don't show most of your series in heaven....they reserve them for hell.

pat residuals from old Love Boat episodes? The same fellow who thought he could get away without honoring hard working Union members, whose labor brought him untold millions? The same Aaron Spelling who was only stopped by a Union who uncovered his unscrupulous business practices and forced him through a worked out deal to honor his commitments to past contractual understandings? That Aaron Spelling? RIP indeed!

Thank god for Unions and to their continuance in these neo corporate times.

RIP Mr. Spelling. Thank God not all of us are so cold hearted.You will be missed. :cry:

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I was going to feel sad, but now, hmm. Not that I'd ever be GLAD that someone died (with a very few exceptions) but I guess I can temper my sympathy just a bit in this case.

Still sorry for his family's loss, however rich and entitled they may be.

edited for grammar, etc.

Really. I looked at him IMBD profile:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005455/

And really, all this wonderful and even not so wonderful television he produced--I can't imagine televison without him. What an effect he made on what we watched.

Thanks vixengrl for the link. I didn't realize the complete volume of his work - the amount of TV shows and movies he had created and had been involved with, as well as his early acting..spanning from the 50's till this year.

He worked hard throughout his career, doing what he loved despite his critics, which I admire - a lot. He also also gave a large amount of actors/actresses and others in the industry work over the decades, including many starting their careers. I hope they remember him for it and give their support to his family.

neighbors when he built a huge (50,000+ sf) house that looked like some cheap motel.

I'd probably p*ss off my neighbors as well...especially the busy bodies.

...shot to hell. I mean, without Dad around to pull the strings, who'll hire her now?

And yes it was a union job. Spelling created a lot of wonderful and awful shows. He braved several serious lawsuits to bring "And the Band Played On" to television.
BTW, Tori does have a decent work ethic, unlike other trust fund babies I could mention *cough* Paris Hilton *cough"

RIP Mr Spelling

Tori has a decent work ethic?

She's a trust fund baby, pure and simple. Maybe more simple than pure.

Homewrecking tramp.

Recently she did said she's gay.

And, has been very, very good, too -- critically acclaimed, on occasion. Check her out in "Trick."

He'll be missed

He'll be missed, for sure.

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The saga of his recent marriage to Tori Spelling after leaving his wife of over a decade is pretty disgusting...I remember seeing a People magazine recently where the self-centered couple was all over themselves, oblivious to the fact that they ruined two marriages and that Dean has a son and newly adopted daughter with his now ex-wife.

So, Aaron Spelling is now dead. He may or may not have been a nice man and yes, he created an empire of entertainment television, but he also created the Beverly Hills 90210 nightmare called "Tori". She is basically a walking younger version of him visually but with breasts and a fake upturned nose. She has been spoiled by the spoils of that empire and was an earlier "model" for Paris Hilton....

:puke:

and said that Tori and her mother were not on speaking terms after her recent marriage to Dean McDermott. Maybe Aaron left everything to Candy, and if so, if things stay the way they are now between her and Tori, Tori may not be getting anything... who knows?

Also, they showed a recent interview with Mr. Spelling where he says he will be remembered for 2 things when he dies, one: Charlie's Angels, and two, being Tori Spelling's dad.

Lastly, I read yesterday where when he suffered the stroke at home just a couple of days ago, he was NOT moved to a hospital. He suffered the stroke at home, and there he stayed. They didn't take him to the hospital, which I thought was weird. I wonder if this unfortunate event had anything to do with his death?

Is that if Tori Spelling is indeed pregnant as has been reported, not only will Aaron Spelling never know his grandkids or them him, but these poor kids will have a narcissitic mother who won't know the first thing about being there for them emotionally or otherwise.

Sad situation to hear about the possibility of the parents not being on speaking terms. And yes, it would be interesting to see how after all those years of spoiling Tori, if in the end Aaron saw the errors of his ways and corrected it.

Regarding the circumstances around his stroke and death and being at home, I guess its not so strange that he would want to be at his home and not a hospital (I hate hospitals!). Besides, he had so much money, he could afford to have a hospital at home if he wanted. But what a sad thought that the stress of what may have happened with Tori running off with McDermott and the stress of her and her mom/parents not on speaking terms could have led to ole' Aaron's demise.

most people who are parents for the first time are unsure of many things they deal with. it doesn't mean they wont be good parents.

parent, is the ability to unselfishly give of yourself to the complete needs of another human being and to make sacrifices that may not always be pleasant. Tori Spelling has never had to think of anyone in her life but herself and every example of the way she has lived her life demonstrates that. For the sake of any future offspring, I hope I'm wrong. But then again, it will most likely not be her raising her children.

mini-hospital in that house. It's not as though there wouldn't be enough room for it.

Besides, I interviewed him about that mega-house of his and he said he made it so big and so lavish with all the goodies in it because he hated to travel and wasn't fond of flying and so, thought it'd be possible to build some of that overseas scenery and magnificence in his own backyard instead. I didn't know him well, but I did have a chance to talk with him several times about various things he was up to, production-wise. He was always friendly, courteous, hospitable, self-effacing, and cooperative as an interview subject. Interesting guy. Always behaved as a gentleman. Castpeople never had a bad thing to say about him, and I've gotta say, he gave some pretty good breaks to older actresses (Linda Evans, Joan Collins, Stephanie Beacham, and Katharine Ross, for example) who'd otherwise go begging for roles. Made a huge impact on television. Back in his heyday of "Dynasty" and "The Love Boat" and "Charlie's Angels" et al, people in the industry used to joke that ABC stood for "Aaron's Broadcasting Company."

in his home, but I think you're probably right. It was probably a lot more comfortable for him in his home...

How interesting that you were able to interview him. Were you able to take a tour of his house?

It was the bane of Beverly Hills. People complained that it was a monstrosity and took too long to build. But I could understand his point - the guy really didn't like going anywhere. I've got a husband like that. He wanted all the comforts and luxuries around himself and his family, and didn't want to have to travel to them. Interesting that he was rich enough to go anywhere in the world. Hell, he could have arranged a flight on a Russian spacecraft if he'd felt like it. But he didn't want to. Interesting guy. Very down to earth, considering the level of achievement and prominence he'd reached.

thank you calimary for the info. on Aaron Spelling. I've always been intrigued with and admired people who start with little or nothing and succeed. I'm also very interested in producing and would've loved a chance to sit down talk with him about it.

I also don't understand the fuss over his house. It was his. He could with it as he wished. And if he wanted to indulge in it...along with the women in his life, I'm happy for him that he got that opportunity.

Among his many talents, one thing that I've always noticed with Spelling was his ability to pick the right shows with the right actors that worked very well.

I have only heard people in the industry speak highly of him with the only "criticism" being either that some of his shows on TV were TV's answer for B-movies, but they were popular, and ofcourse the only other criticism that he fathered Tori. My guess is that if Tori was his only daughter, he just lived for her and because he had the resources, gave her everything, not realizing that he was creating a monster in the process.

Interesting to hear your take Calimary! :hi: And I did forget the fact that he really did give a lot of opportunities to some of the "older" actresses in Hollywood.

He always insisted that Tori had to audition for that part in "Beverly Hills, 90210" like any other aspiring starlet.

I remember going to his office to do this one sit-down interview (as opposed to grabbing him for a few moments at some cocktail party or on-set event) and noting the portrait on his wall. It was large - and of his girls: Candy and Tori. Tori was a little girl at the time. But she still had on a little girl's version of the jewels her mom was wearing. A small diamond and ruby (I think it was) pendant on a neck chain - a miniature of the one her mom wore. And he commented on that, saying he loved to indulge his girls. At the time, some of the buzz about them was about Candy Spellings diamonds. She evidently had a world-class collection. He spoke of being particularly proud of this pair of chandelier earrings he'd given her that he'd had designed. He said they had every imaginable cut of diamond in them. Sigh...

Thanks!

I heard that he had a lot of issues with claustrophobia and agoraphobia, so in that light it would make sense if he didn't want to go to a hospital.

EVERY possible convenience and luxury imaginable - so he wouldn't ever have to go out anywhere else to find it.

apparently, Tori just recently (this week) "reconciled" with Daddy. Apparently things are not so rosy with Mummy. :eyes:

Tori was up in Canada listening to cries of "homewrecker!" at some music awards show, and getting her husband's ex kicked out of the event by saying she had some kind of restraining order. :eyes:

Tori and her hubby deserve each other.

:puke:

with his career. Rest in peace.

whether he was more good then bad or vice versa, no one is perfect.

- and the great irony is that every single person on this board was at some point in their life entertained by something that Aaron Spelling had a hand in. You may have been too young then to remember it now, but you were. Unless you were born and raised in a cave, that is. Not to mention that Spelling was a fairly consistent contributor to Democratic candidates - including assorted campaigns of Al Gore, Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy - to name a few.

The man is dead. His family is grieving. Remembering the pain of losing my own father, I extend my sympathies to them. For those who are unable to muster that much compassion, in the words of my mother "If you can't say something nice, just don't say anything at all."

I look at this board about once a day and every day I have been stunned to the point where my view of the Democratic Party has changed forever, and not for the better. Anyone who thinks we are the "compassionate party" need only check out this thread and the Patsy Ramsey one. Meanwhile these same people will bend over backwards to defend Scott Peterson, a man who slaughtered his wife and baby. And some even debated whether or not the 9-month-old fetus (that the mother chose to have) should even count as a person!!!!

It's been a real wake-up call. But I just choose to focus on the good ones and there are a lot of good eggs on this board.

RIP Aaron Spelling. One of the good Democrats, indeed.

Bush. There are so many people who are much more contempt worthy. Aaron Spelling wasn't a saint, and he wasn't a monster.

Of course, I had no idea he was 83 years old.

Did you guys ever see the young Aaron Spelling in an episode of "I Love Lucy"? It was great!

He and his family also have done alot for many charitable causes. He came to Hollywood almost literally penniless. Good for him.

in his early days in hollywood.

She asked for him specifically to write an episode of Zane Grey Theater for her.

If it hadn't been for her, he might not have gotten started in the business.

She did the same thing for designer Nolan Miller.