Lillian Drazek Gallo (April 12, 1928 – June 6, 2012) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

. In the 1970s, Gallo formed one of the first female producing collaborations in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

when she teamed with

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

Fay Kanin Fay Kanin (née Mitchell; May 9, 1917March 27, 2013) was an American screenwriter, playwright and producer. Kanin was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1983. Biography Born Fay Mitchell in New York City t ...

Life and career

Gallo was born Lillian Drazek in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, on April 12, 1928, to parents who immigrated from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1949. Gallo served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

for four years after graduation, including work in

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

and achieving the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. She moved to Los Angeles during the 1950s, where she worked on '' The Frank Sinatra Show''. She soon met a producer at

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

, William Self, who became her professional mentor at the studio. Gallo began work on television series for 20th Century Fox during the 1960s, including ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' and '' Peyton Place''. Gallo rose to become the director of movies of the weekend, known as ''

ABC Movie of the Week The ''ABC Movie of the Week'' is an American weekly television anthology series featuring Television film, made-for-TV movies that aired on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network in various permutations from 1969 in television, 1969 t ...

'', for the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television network. She oversaw the production of more than twenty-four television films aired on ABC, including ''

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

'' in 1971, which marked Steven Spielberg's debut as a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

directing debut. In 1974, Gallo produced the television film,

The Stranger Who Looks Like Me ''The Stranger Who Looks Like Me'' is a 1974 American made-for-television drama romance film directed by Larry Peerce and starring Meredith Baxter, Beau Bridges and Walter Brooke. The cast includes Whitney Blake, who was Meredith Baxter's real-l ...

, which starred

Meredith Baxter Meredith Ann Baxter (born June 21, 1947) is an American actress and producer. She is known for her roles on the CBS sitcom ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' (1972–1973), ABC drama series ''Family'' (1976–1980) and the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1982 ...

. Baxter's character, who had been adopted as a child, searches for her

biological parents Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

in the movie. Gallo followed this up by producing the 1975 TV movie, ''Hustling'', which earned its lead,

Jill Clayburgh Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actr ...

, an Emmy nomination for playing a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

. Gallo teamed with screenwriter, Fay Kanin, in 1978, becoming one of the industry's first all-female production partnerships. Together, Gallo and Kanin produced only one film, ''Fun and Games'' in 1980, which starred

Valerie Harper Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She played Rhoda Morgenstern on ''The Mar ...

. Despite having only one single production credit, Gallo's and Kanin's partnership proved significant in an industry long dominated by men. Author Mollie Gregory, who has written on the history of female producers, told the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', "Though they enjoyed working together, they were really bucking the times...Lillian told me that people found it shocking to be on the set with two women producers." She continued to produce television movies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including ''

Princess Daisy is a princess character in the Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. She debuted in the 1989 Game Boy launch game ''Super Mario Land'' as the ruler of Sarasaland where she was given the role of damsel in distress for Mario to rescue. The ga ...

'' in 1983. Gallo's last credit as ''

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

'' was for the 1998 television film, '' I Know What You Did'', starring

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

as a lawyer. Gallo's husband of 42 years, producer and actor

Lew Gallo Lewis D. Gallo (June 12, 1928 – June 11, 2000) was an American character actor and producer, best known for his role as Maj. Joseph Cobb on the 1960s ABC World War II series ''Twelve O'Clock High''. Gallo was born in Mount Kisco, New York, an ...

, died in 2000. Lillian Gallo died at the

Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an observ ...

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

, of complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

on June 6, 2012, at the age of 84. She was survived by two children, Mary Ann and Tom, and two grandchildren. Her funeral was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. She was a longtime resident of Beverly Hills.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallo, Lillian 1928 births 2012 deaths Television producers from California American women television producers University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni American people of Polish descent Burials at Los Angeles National Cemetery Businesspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts Mass media people from Beverly Hills, California United States Marine Corps officers Female United States Marine Corps personnel 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California Deaths from dementia in California 21st-century American women Military personnel from California Military personnel from Massachusetts