Burton Roy Sugarman (born January 4, 1939) is an American film and

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 ...

best known for creating and producing the iconic 1970s/early '80s variety series '' The Midnight Special'', which served as a showcase for popular musical groups of the time. Sugarman also produced the 1970s game shows '' Celebrity Sweepstakes'', '' Whew!'' and '' The Wizard of Odds'', and the short-lived series ''

The Richard Pryor Show ''The Richard Pryor Show'' is an American comedy variety show starring and created by Richard Pryor. It premiered on NBC on Tuesday, September 13, 1977, at 8 p.m. opposite ABC's ''Laverne & Shirley'' and ''Happy Days''. The show was produced ...

''. During 1979, Sugarman also owned shares in Old Tucson Corporation, which owned the Old Tucson and Old Vegas amusement parks in Arizona and Nevada. In the 1980s, he produced the motion pictures '' Kiss Me Goodbye'', '' Extremities'' and '' Children of a Lesser God''. He was the executive producer of the film ''

Crimes of the Heart ''Crimes of the Heart'' is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century. The play won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 1986, th ...

'' in 1986 and television series ''

The Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show. Newly married couples compete against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally created ...

'' 1988. He was also part owner of

Barris Industries Barris Industries, Inc. was an American game show production company that was founded by Chuck Barris. History Barris founded his company on June 14, 1965 as Chuck Barris Productions. The company's first series was an unsold pilot called ''Peopl ...

(later known as the Guber- Peters Entertainment Company) before it was sold to

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

in 1989. During the late 1980s, Burt Sugarman was a member of The Giant Group, which they had bought investments in media firms, like broadcasting firm Reeves Entertainment Group, and television broadcaster/cable system operator/newspaper owner

Media General Media General, Inc. was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-D ...

in 1987.

Personal life

Sugarman married television personality and talk show host Mary Hart in 1989; they have one son.Los Angeles Times
/ref> He had previously been married to Pauline Schur and to the late actress Carol Wayne, and was engaged to actresses

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' Bye Bye B ...

and Myrna Hansen.

Producer (as EP)

Himself

References

External links

* 1939 births Living people 20th-century American Jews Businesspeople from Los Angeles Television producers from California 21st-century American Jews {{US-tv-producer-stub