Arthur L. Annecharico is a producer, director and writer. He is known for having produced revivals of popular 1960s television series in the 1990s, namely ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...

'', ''Dragnet'', and ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb and produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pe ...

''. Annecharico's involvement in the entertainment industry has spanned more than 32 years. His company, The Arthur Company, had a multimillion-dollar partnership with

MCA TV NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV (stylized as NBCUniversal SYNDICATION STUDIOS) is t ...

for development of new productions across the board in film and television, with more than $40,000,000 in on-the-air commitments in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career

Before forming The Arthur Company, Annecharico was appointed the head of comedy development for Metromedia Producers Co. and then president of Cinemaworld Productions. On network television, his first credit as a co-creator was for the 1983 CBS TV movie ''Ace Diamond, Private Eye'' (1983). Shortly after, Annecharico entered into a deal with

Turner Broadcasting Systems Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its asset ...

to develop half-hour sitcoms at one-fourth of the cost of network television programs. With the development of '' Down to Earth'' (1984–1987), the first sitcom he produced for TBS, Annecharico formed The Arthur Company as his production arm. ''Down to Earth'', which was created by ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 29 ...

'' grand champion singer

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, determinism, neuroscience, meditation ...

and Bruce H. Newberg, was immediately successful on TBS, and soon, two other sitcoms from The Arthur Company followed on the cable network: '' Rocky Road'' (1984–1987), which was created and produced by Annecharico, and '' Safe at Home'' (1985–1987). Aside from these three series, Annecharico had other sitcom pilots in development at TBS, including ''The O'Briens'' (1985), which starred

Darren McGavin Darren McGavin (born William Lyle Richardson; May 7, 1922 – February 25, 2006) was an American actor. McGavin began his career working as a set painter for Columbia Pictures. In 1954, he originated roles in Broadway productions of '' My Three ...

as a work-from-home sports journalist and widower raising his three sons, who were played by

Peter Billingsley Peter Billingsley (born April 16, 1971), also known as Peter Michaelsen and Peter Billingsley-Michaelsen, is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for portraying Ralphie Parker in ''A Christmas Story'' and ''A Christmas Story Christm ...

(McGavin's co-star from ''

A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...

''),

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (; born February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Mikey Walsh in '' The Goonies'' (1985), Billy Tepper in '' Toy Soldiers'' (1991), Dave Morgan in '' Encino Man'' (1992), Daniel Ruettiger in '' Rudy'' ...

, and

Jason Hervey Jason Robert Hervey (born April 6, 1972) is an American actor and television producer. He is best known for his role as Wayne Arnold on '' The Wonder Years''. Early life and acting Hervey was born on April 6, 1972, in Los Angeles, California, the ...

; and ''Here to Stay'' (1986), a comedy about a grandfather (

Robert Mandan Robert Mandan (February 2, 1932 – April 29, 2018) was an American actor, best known for his roles as Sam Reynolds on '' Search for Tomorrow'' (1965–1970), Chester Tate, the philandering businessman husband of Jessica Tate ( Katherine Hel ...

) who moves with his daughter's yuppie family. The cast featured

Heather O'Rourke Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988) was an American child actress. She had her breakthrough starring as Carol Anne Freeling in the supernatural horror film ''Poltergeist'' (1982), which received critical acclaim a ...

Jerry Houser Jerry Houser (born July 14, 1952) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer in '' Summer of '42'' and its sequel, ''Class of '44'', as Dave "Killer" Carlson in ''Slap Shot,'' and as Wally Logan, the husb ...

Dianne Kay Dianne Kay (born March 29, 1954) is an American retired actress best known for playing Nancy Bradford on ABC's ''Eight Is Enough'' from 1977 to 1981. Early years Kay is the daughter of Peter and Miriam Kay. Her father was a state representative ...

, and

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...

. Neither of these projects were picked up as series. The Arthur Company finished a £28,000,000 order for 271 half-hour sitcom episodes for TBS and a $10,000,000 order for 24 episodes of the hour-long action adventure series, ''

Airwolf ''Airwolf'' is an American action military drama television series. It centers on a high-technology attack helicopter, code-named '' Airwolf'', and its crew. They undertake various exotic missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War the ...

'', for

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

. Annecharico produced the syndicated sitcom ''

The Munsters Today ''The Munsters Today'' is an American sitcom and a revival of the original 1964–66 sitcom ''The Munsters'' that aired in syndication from October 8, 1988, to June 8, 1991. Plot The series concerns the day-to-day life of a family of benign m ...

'' (also known as ''The New Munsters'') for three seasons from 1988 to 1991. The pilot episode bridged the gap between the original 1966 ''

'' series and the new ''The Munsters Today'' show. The show's second season was met with some criticism from ''Munster'' fans as Annecharico changed the format of the show's first season and the original series to bring the Munster family into the 1990s. While the show continued to use its original premise, notable changes were made. In 1989 and 1990, Annecharico produced two 26-episode season revivals of the

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise), ''Dragnet'' franchise ...

series '' Dragnet'' and ''

''. These series, ''The New Dragnet'' and ''

The New Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' (also known as ''The New Adam-12'') is an American police procedural crime drama television series produced by Arthur L. Annecharico, Burton Armus, and John Whitman under The Arthur Company and Universal Television. It is a syndica ...

'' respectively, had completely different characters, music, and formats from the original Mark VII series, and only ran for a single year each. Annecharico produced the films ''Run For Blue'', ''The Eagle'', and ''Grains of Sand''. In network television, he is credited with ''

What a Dummy ''What a Dummy'' is a syndicated television sitcom that lasted for one season in 1990 until 1991. Premise The premise of the show was that the Brannigan family of Secaucus, New Jersey was getting advice from a talking, thinking ventriloquist' ...

,'' ''The Deepest Dive'', and ''The Huddle''. His writing credits include the features ''Camp Bow Wow'', ''Father Forgive Me'', and the television special ''Tanya''.

Awards

Annecharico is a three-time

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

recipient. Annecharico was the recipient of the 1988

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

Evangeline Booth Evangeline Cory Booth, OF (December 25, 1865 – July 17, 1950) was a British evangelist and the fourth General of The Salvation Army from 1934 to 1939. She was the first woman to hold the post. Early life She was born in South Hackney, Lon ...

Award; Annecharico also serves on the California Salvation Army Board of Directors. Annecharico is the recipient of awards of recognition from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers for the donated production of 16 different public service announcements and has been recognized by both the City and County of Los Angeles for his contributions in anti-drunk driving campaigns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annecharico, Arthur L. Film producers from California Film directors from California Annechario, Arthur Year of birth missing (living people)