Charles Edward Sellier Jr. (November 9, 1943 – January 31, 2011) was an American television producer, screenwriter, novelist and director, best known for creating the American book and television series ''

The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' is a 1974 independent feature film produced by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and Raylan D. Jensen for Sun Classic Pictures. The film's popularity led to an NBC television series of the same name. The title cha ...

''. He was also known for directing the notorious Christmas themed slasher film ''

Silent Night, Deadly Night ''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns a ...

'' He also wrote and produced more than thirty films and 230 television shows during his career, which spanned four decades.

Life and career

Sellier was born in

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 2 ...

, on November 9, 1943. He was the only son of Charles Edward Senior and Gladys Carson Sellier. His father worked as a shipping clerk. Sellier was born as a

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, later converting to

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

and then to

evangelical Christianity Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

. ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'', which aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

during the 1977–1978 television season, depicted a character, portrayed by actor

Dan Haggerty Daniel Francis Haggerty (November 19, 1942 – January 15, 2016) was an American actor who was best known for playing the title role in the film and television series ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams''. Early life Haggerty's birthplace i ...

, who escapes a

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

and rescues a bear cub who becomes his constant companion in the series. Sellier had first introduced the character in his 1972 novel, ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'', loosely based on the real-life 19th century mountain man, James "Grizzly" Adams. The series was produced by

Sunn Classic Pictures Sunn Classic Pictures, also known as Sunn International Pictures, Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, and Taft International Pictures was an independent U.S.-based film distributor, founded in 1971. The company was notable for family films and document ...

, a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

based in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake Cit ...

, founded by Mel Hardman, which Sellier joined in 1974. ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' ran for two seasons, but was concluded in the 1982 television movie, ''The Capture of Grizzly Adams'', in which Dan Haggerty reprised his role. Additionally, Sellier wrote and produced more than 230 television shows and thirty feature films during his career. Eleven of Sellier's feature films are included in the top 100 highest-grossing

independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

in history, with six of those films ranking in the top twenty-five. Sellier produced numerous films and television shows, often with American pioneer or Christian themes aimed at family-friendly audiences. His production credits included '' In Search of Noah's Ark'', ''

In Search of Historic Jesus ''In Search of Historic Jesus'' is a 1979 American documentary film based on Lee Roddy and Charles E. Sellier Jr.'s book of the same name. Released by Sunn Classic Pictures, the film speculates on the historical accuracy of the biblical depict ...

'', ''Mark Twain's America'', '' The Lincoln Conspiracy'', ''The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark'' and ''Breaking the Da Vinci Code''. In 1980, Sellier was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the made-for-television movie, ''

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a gothic story by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories titled ''The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' Written while Irving was living abroad in Birm ...

'', which starred

Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. ...

as Ichabod Crane. Sellier was a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

and National Religious Broadcasters Association. Sellier was the CEO of Grizzly Adams Prods. at the time of death in 2011. The company marketed family-friendly and

faith-based Faith-based may refer to: * Faith-based organization * Faith-based community organizing * Faith-based school * White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships * Faith Based (film) ''Faith Based'' is a 2020 American comedy film ...

documentaries, films and television shows. At the time of his death, Sellier had been negotiating an agreement with Passmorelab of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

to convert films and television shows he produced to 3D for

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

3D DVDs and 3D television broadcasting, though said '3D conversions' never materialized. Sellier died unexpectedly at his home in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistica ...

, on January 31, 2011, at the age of 67. During his first marriage to his working partner, Donna Sellier, the couple had two sons. Their elder son, Donald Sellier, predeceased him. He was survived by their other son, William Sellier, and his wife by a second marriage, Julie Magnuson.

Filmography

As producer

* 1973 '' The Brothers O'Toole'' (producer) * 1974 The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (producer) * 1976 Guardian of the Wilderness (producer) * 1976 '' In Search of Noah's Ark'' (documentary) (producer) * 1976 The Mysterious Monsters (documentary) (producer) * 1976 The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena (documentary) (producer) * 1976 The Adventures of Frontier Fremont (producer) * 1977 Incredible Rocky Mountain Race (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1977 Last of the Mohicans (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1977 The Lincoln Conspiracy (producer) * 1977 The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (TV series) (executive producer) * 1978 The Deerslayer (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1978 The Time Machine (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1978 Donner Pass: The Road to Survival (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1978 Beyond and Back (documentary) (producer) * 1979 The Fall of the House of Usher (executive producer) * 1979 Beyond Death's Door (producer) * 1979 In Search of Historic Jesus (documentary) (producer) * 1979 The Bermuda Triangle (documentary) (producer) * 1979 Encounter with Disaster (documentary) (producer) * 1979 Greatest Heroes of the Bible (TV series) (executive producer – 2 episodes) ** Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar (1979) (executive producer) ** The Story of Esther (1979) (executive producer) * 1980 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1980 Hangar 18 (producer) * 1981 Legend of the Wild (producer) * 1981 The Nashville Grab (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1981 ''

The Boogens ''The Boogens'' is a 1981 American monster film directed by James L. Conway and starring Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren, Anne-Marie Martin, Jeff Harlan, John Crawford, Med Flory, Jon Lormer, and Scott Wilkinson. The title refers to scaly t ...

'' (producer) * 1981 California Gold Rush (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1981 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1981 The Adventures of Nellie Bly (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1981 Earthbound (executive producer) * 1982 The Capture of Grizzly Adams (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1984 Snowballing (producer) * 1984 ''

'' (director – as Charles E. Sellier Jr.) * 1987 Desperado (TV movie) (producer – as Chuck Sellier) * 1988 Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 1988 The Return of Desperado (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 1989 Desperado: Badlands Justice (TV movie) (producer – as Chuck Sellier) * 1989 Desperado: The Outlaw Wars (TV movie) (producer – as Chuck Sellier) * 1989 Men (TV series) (producer – 1 episode) ** Baltimore (1989) (producer) * 1990 Vestige of Honor (TV movie) (supervising producer – as Chuck Sellier) * 1991 Brotherhood of the Gun (TV movie) (producer – as Chuck Sellier) * 1991 '' Knight Rider 2000'' (TV movie) (producer – as Chuck Sellier) * 1993 Ancient Secrets of the Bible, Part II (TV documentary) (executive producer – as Charles E. Sellier) * 1993 The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark (TV documentary) (executive producer – as Charles E. Sellier) * 1994 Mysteries of the Ancient World (TV documentary) (executive producer) * 1995 UFO Diaries (TV mini-series) (producer) * 2000–2002 Encounters with the Unexplained (TV series documentary) (supervising producer – 49 episodes) ** Political Victim: Vince Foster – Suicide or Political Execution?/Attack on America: Were There Miracles Amidst the Mayhem of 911? (2002) (supervising producer) ** America's Lost Colony: Has the Lost Colony of Roanoke Been Found?/Prophetic Last Days: Have We Entered the End Times? (2002) (supervising producer) ** Global Climate Changes: Will Global Warming Change Our Lives?/Biblical Paradise: Have We Found the Garden of Eden? (2002) (supervising producer) ** Deadly Insects: Are We Creating Killer Insects?/Fields of Mystery: Are Crop Circles the Language of Aliens? (2002) (supervising producer) ** Has the Lost Colony of Roanoke Been Found?/Are the End Times Here? (2002) (supervising producer) * 2004 The Evidence for Heaven (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 2004 George W. Bush: Faith in the White House (video documentary) (supervising producer) * 2005 The Miraculous Mission (TV documentary) (supervising producer) * 2005 12 Ordinary Men (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 2005 Breaking the Da Vinci Code (video documentary) (supervising producer) * 2005 The Da Vinci Code Deception: Solving the 2000 Year Old Mystery (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 2005 The Search for Heaven (video documentary) (supervising producer) * 2006 Miracles in Our Midst (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 2006 Heroes Among Us, Miracles Around Us (video documentary) (supervising producer – as Chuck Sellier) * 2006 Apocalypse and the End Times (video documentary) (supervising producer – as Chuck Sellier) * 2006 End Times How Close Are We? (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 2006 Portrait of Courage: The Untold Story of Flight 93 (video documentary) (supervising producer) * 2006 The Heroes of Flight 93 (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 2007 The Longevity Secret (video documentary) (supervising producer) * 2007 Miraculous Messages (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 2007 The Case for Christ's Resurrection (TV movie) (supervising producer) * 2007 Fabric of Time (video) (supervising producer) * 2008 Friends for Life (supervising producer) * 2008 Unlocking the Secret (video) (supervising producer)

As director

* 1979 ''Encounter with Disaster'' (documentary) * 1984 ''

'' * 1984 ''Snowballing'' * 1985 '' The Annihilators''

As writer

* 1976 Guardian of the Wilderness * 1976 In Search of Noah's Ark (documentary) (book "In Search of Noah's Ark" / screenplay) * 1976 The Adventures of Frontier Fremont (story) * 1977 The Lincoln Conspiracy (book) * 1977 The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (TV series) ** The Trial (1977) (creator) ** A Bear's Life (1977) (creator) ** Survival (1977) (creator) ** Hot Air Hero (1977) (creator) ** Home of the Hawk (1977) (creator) * 1979 In Search of Historic Jesus (documentary) (writer) * 1979 Greatest Heroes of the Bible (TV series) ** Abraham's Sacrifice (1979) (developer) ** Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar (1979) (developer) * 1980 Hangar 18 (book with Robert Weverka) * 1982 The Capture of Grizzly Adams (TV movie) (book) * 1992 Ancient Secrets of the Bible (TV documentary) * 1992 Miracles and Other Wonders (TV docudramas; book 1994) * 1993 Ancient Secrets of the Bible, Part II (TV documentary) (book / as Charles E. Sellier) * 1993 The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark (TV documentary) (book / as Charles E. Sellier) * 2008 Friends for Life

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sellier Jr., Charles E. 1943 births 2011 deaths American evangelicals Converts to evangelical Christianity Converts to Mormonism from Roman Catholicism Former Latter Day Saints 20th-century American novelists American film producers American male novelists American male screenwriters American television producers People from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho People from Pascagoula, Mississippi 20th-century American male writers Film directors from Mississippi Film directors from Idaho Screenwriters from Mississippi Screenwriters from Idaho