Rebecca Eaton (born November 7, 1947) is an American television producer and film producer best known for introducing American audiences to British costume and countryside dramas as executive producer of the PBS ''

Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

'' series. In 2011, she was named one of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Early life

Eaton was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and raised in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, her father a

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

English literature professor and her mother, Katherine Emery, an actress both on Broadway (in Lillian Hellman's '' The Children's Hour'') and in film. Eaton recalls visiting New York every summer to see Broadway shows as well as spending her junior high school days lost in ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

''.The Paley Center for Media
"Rebecca Eaton: Television Producer"
/ref>

Education

Eaton attended Polytechnic School, graduating in 1965, and then Vassar, graduating in 1969 with an A.B. in English literature. Her senior thesis was on

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's ''

Dubliners ''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were writ ...

''. In 1969–70 she was a production assistant for the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

in London. Returning to the U.S., she was in 1972 hired by WGBH in Boston, there producing ''Pantechnicon'' (a radio arts magazine) and the television programs ''Zoom'' and ''Enterprise''.

Career

Eaton became the third executive producer of ''Masterpiece Theatre''. Christopher Sarson was at the helm from its inception in 1971. Sarson had bought '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' from ITV. Eaton succeeded the series' second executive producer, Joan Wilson, in 1985. Under Eaton, ''Masterpiece'' extended its reach into feature film co-production for such films as Jane Austen's ''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours. Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasi ...

'' and '' Mrs. Brown'' starring Dame

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

. By 2011, she had been executive producer of the show for more than 25 of its 40 years on the air.Gillian Anderson
"Rebecca Eaton, TV Producer"
''

'', April 21, 2011.

Personal life

In 1984, Eaton married sculptor Paul Robert Cooper. Their daughter was born shortly before Eaton was named executive producer of ''Masterpiece''. She credits her husband's willingness to stay at home with having advanced her career.

Honors

Eaton's honors include 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, 16 Peabody Awards, six Golden Globes, and two Academy Award nominations (for the Masterpiece co-production ''Mrs. Brown'').

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

has honored her with an honorary OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).PBS
"PBS Honors Rebecca Eaton, Masterpiece Executive Producer, with 'Be More' Award
/ref> In 2011 she was one of ''Time'' magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Television series

Since becoming executive producer of ''Masterpiece'' in 1985, Eaton is credited with producing for American audiences series that include: * '' Prime Suspect'' * ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

'' * '' The Lost Prince'' ( WGBH) * ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' * ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first t ...

'' * '' House of Cards'' *

Tony Hillerman Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring Navajo Nation Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Several of his w ...

's ''Skinwalkers'', ''Coyote Waits'', and ''A Thief of Time'' * '' The Complete Jane Austen'' * '' Cranford'' ( WGBH) * ''

Wallander Wallander may refer to: TV, film, books * Kurt Wallander, a fictional Swedish police inspector in novels by Henning Mankell :*Wallander (film series), ''Wallander'' (film series), Swedish-language television films of the Wallander stories starring ...

'' * ''

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in Serial (literature), serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea pris ...

'' * '' Sherlock'' * ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

'' ( WGBH) * '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (remake) * '' Endeavour''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Rebecca 1947 births Living people Television producers from California American women television producers Vassar College alumni Businesspeople from Boston Mass media people from Pasadena, California Honorary officers of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century American women Primetime Emmy Award winners