Perry Francis Lafferty (October 3, 1917 – August 25, 2005) was an American

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a 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 a ...

and

network television Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

executive who produced several television programs, including the CBS programs ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker (auth ...

'', '' Maude'' and ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. ...

''. With

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 ...

, he produced the 1985

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

An Early Frost ''An Early Frost'' is a 1985 American made-for-television drama film. It was the first major film with major motion picture stars, Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, and Sylvia Sidney, broadcast on a major television network, NBC, to deal wit ...

'', one of the first dramatic films to deal with the subject of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

/ AIDS.

Early years

Lafferty was born in Davenport, Iowa on October 3, 1917. He graduated from

Davenport Central High School Central High School, or Davenport Central High School is a public four-year comprehensive high school located in Davenport, Iowa. The school building opened in 1907 as "Davenport High School," and is now one of three public high schools part of ...

in 1935 and was inducted into the school's Hall of Honor in 2009.Wundram, Bill
"3 selected for Central High School Hall of Honor"
''

Quad-City Times The ''Quad-City Times'' is a daily morning newspaper based in Davenport, Iowa, and circulated throughout the Quad Cities metropolitan area (Davenport, Bettendorf and Scott County in Iowa; and Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Rock Isl ...

'', March 16, 2009. Accessed April 23, 2009. He graduated from the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a jo ...

and was trained in piano. When he was 12 years old, Lafferty began playing piano on Saturdays on radio station WKBF in rock Island, Illinois. During World War II, Lafferty served in the U.S. Army Air Force.

Career

In the early 1940s, Lafferty began working in the radio industry in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

as a director and producer.Staff
"Perry Lafferty, 87, Former TV Producer, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 18, 2005. Accessed April 23, 2009. He was hired by CBS in 1965 as the network's West Coast programming department, leaving in 1976. He was hired by

in 1979 as its senior vice president of West Coast programs and talent, and was later assigned responsibility for the network's movies and mini-series. In that role, he developed and produced the 1985 made-for-television production of ''

'', starring

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...

as a young man who must let his parents, played by

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominations ...

and

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations ...

, know that he was dying of AIDS. The critically acclaimed film won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

and was one of the first network dramatic features to tackle the HIV /AIDS issue. He also worked on such television series as ''

Star of the Family ''Star of the Family'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 30 to December 9, 1982. The show featured Brian Dennehy as fire chief Leslie "Buddy" Krebs and Katherine Saltzberg, then Maisnik, as his singer daughter, Jennie Lee K ...

'', ''

The Danny Kaye Show ''The Danny Kaye Show'' was an American variety show, hosted by the stage and screen star Danny Kaye, which aired on Wednesday nights from September 25, 1963, to June 7, 1967, on the CBS television network. Directed by Robert Scheerer, it premi ...

'', ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...

'', ''

Studio One Studio One or Studio 1 may refer to: * Studio One (software), digital audio workstation software, developed by PreSonus * ''Studio One'' (American TV series), a 1948–1958 American television anthology series * ''Studio One'' (Emirati TV progra ...

'', and ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

''.

Later years

After he retired from working in television, Lafferty became a writer of mystery novels, including ''Jablonski of L.A.'' (1999) and ''The Downing of Flight Six Heavy'' (1992).

Death

Lafferty died at age 87 on August 25, 2005 at his home in

Century City, California Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...

due to

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

.via ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

'
"TV network executive Perry Lafferty, 87"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

''. September 12, 2005. Accessed April 23, 2009. He was interred in

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

. His 1943 marriage to the former Frances Carden, who had been a radio actress, ended with her death in 1999. Lafferty was survived by a daughter, a son and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Archive of American Television interviewIMDb entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafferty, Perry 1917 births 2005 deaths American television producers Deaths from cancer in California Yale School of Music alumni NBC executives CBS executives NBC West Coast Presidents Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery