Jonathan Michael Goodson (born August 20, 1945) is an American

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

who specializes in game shows. He is the son of legendary game show producer

Mark Goodson Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Early life and e ...

and began his television career in 1973 as chief counsel of Goodson-Todman Productions. He later produced several of the company's shows. After his father's death in December 1992, Jonathan took over the company in March 1993 (in the early 1980s the Goodsons had acquired the Todman heirs' portion of the company) and ran it until it was sold to All American Television in 1995. The company was then acquired in turn by Pearson Television in 1998, and then current owner

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

(formerly FremantleMedia) in 2002. Goodson also runs his own production company, Jonathan Goodson Productions, whose output has consisted mostly of state-based lottery game shows, including '' Illinois Instant Riches'', one of only two state-based lottery game show to be shown to a nationwide audience, thanks to Superstation WGN. (The other was its predecessor, '' $100,000 Fortune Hunt'', but that was not a production by Goodson.)

Personal life

Goodson was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He received a B.A. at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1967, and an L.L.B.

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1970.

Shows associated with Jonathan Goodson

*'' Double Dare'', producer *''

Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Contestants attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a row of oversized playing cards ...

'', executive producer *'' That's My Line'', executive producer *'' Child's Play'', executive producer *'' Trivia Trap'', producer *'' Now You See It'', executive producer (1989 version) *''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...

'', producer (1990 version) *''

Cram Cram may refer to: * Cram (surname), a surname, and list of notable persons having the surname * Cram.com, a website for creating and sharing flashcards * ''Cram'' (Australian game show), a television show * ''Cram'' (game show), a TV game show ...

'', creator and executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions) *''Dirty Rotten Cheater'', executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions) *'' The Big Spin'', executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions, 1999-2009 pisodes from 1985-98 did not have him involved *'' Illinois Instant Riches'', later ''Illinois' Luckiest'', executive producer (with Mark Goodson Productions 1994–1996, Jonathan Goodson Productions 1996-2000) *'' Forgive or Forget'', co-executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions, 1998-2000) *''Flamingo Fortune'', executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions, 1995–97) *''Bonus Bonanza'', executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions, 1995–98) *''NY Wired'', executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions, 1997–99) *''Make Me Rich'', executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions, 2009–12) *''Powerball: The Game Show'', executive producer (with Jonathan Goodson Productions, 2000–02)

References

1945 births American television producers Living people {{US-tv-producer-stub