Burt Sugarman

Burton Roy Sugarman (born January 4, 1939) is an American film and television producer 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. 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 in 1986 and television series The Newlywed Game 1988. He was also part owner of Barris Industries (later known as the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company) before it was sold to Sony in 1989. During the late 1980s, he was a member of The Giant Group, which had investments in media firms like Reeves Entertainment Group and television broadcaster/cable system operator/newspaper owner Media General.

Personal life Sugarman married television personality and talk show host Mary Hart in 1989; they have one son. He had previously been married to Pauline Schur and to the late actress Carol Wayne, and was engaged to actresses Ann-Margret and Myrna Hansen.

Producer (as EP) Year Title1969 Dionne Warwick: Souled Out (TV special)1970 The Switched On Symphony (TV special)Changing Scene (TV Special)Changing Scene II (TV Special)1971 Changing Scene III (TV special)Changing Scene IV (TV Special)Stand Up and Cheer (TV series) (EP: 2 episodes)The Manipulator1972 The Jud Strunk Show (TV special)1972–1981 The Midnight Special (TV special, then series; producer)1973 The Wizard of Odds (TV series)1974–1976 Celebrity Sweepstakes (TV series; co-produced with Ralph Andrews Productions)1977 The Richard Pryor Special? (TV special)The Richard Pryor Show (TV series)Billboard No. 1 Music Awards (TV special)1979–1980 Whew! (TV series; co-produced with Jay Wolpert Productions; previously a Bud Austin production)1982 Kiss Me Goodbye1986 ExtremitiesChildren of a Lesser GodCrimes of the Heart (EP)1988 The Newlywed Game (TV series)1990 Mary Hart Presents Love in the Public Eye (TV special)

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