Robert Maxwell Joffe (January 31, 1908 – February 3, 1971) was an American radio 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 ...

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 ...

, and entertainment executive. He was one of the producers (and a writer and director) of '' The Adventures of Superman'' radio show and a producer of several TV series, including the early episodes of both '' Adventures of Superman'' (1951–1954) and '' Lassie'' (1954–1957; executive producer 1957-1958). Maxwell acquired the rights to ''Lassie'' in 1953 for $2,000 and sold the popular television program starring the collie to

Jack Wrather John Devereaux Wrather Jr. (May 24, 1918 – November 12, 1984), was an entrepreneur and petroleum businessman who became a television producer and later diversified by investing in broadcast stations and resort properties. He is best known for p ...

in 1956 for a reported $3.5 million. He also was the producer of '' Creeps by Night'' (1944) on the

Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the ...

. He also wrote episodes of the ''Superman'' radio and TV series as Richard Fielding (a pseudonym that he shared with fellow producers Whitney Ellsworth and Maxwell's then wife, Jessica Fielding Maxwell). Many early episodes of '' Lassie'', as well as episodes of National Velvet, were written by Robert Maxwell under the pseudonym Claire Kennedy. At the time of his death in Toronto, Canada, he was married to Barbara Maxwell and had two sons.

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* 1908 births 1971 deaths American radio producers American male screenwriters Television producers from New York City Mass media people from Brooklyn 20th-century American businesspeople Screenwriters from New York City 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Writers from Brooklyn {{US-radio-bio-stub