David Salzman

David Elliot Salzman (born December 1, 1943) is an American television producer and businessman. Salzman has been involved in a number of industries that include television news and entertainment, feature films, live theater, sports, and musical events.

Early life Salzman was raised in Brooklyn, New York. Salzman wrote, produced, booked guests, and even did makeup; the show attracted many big celebrities. An interview with Michigan Governor George Romney inadvertently ended Romney's presidential campaign in 1968.

KDKA (first stint) After, Salzman joined Group W, and moved up the ranks beginning with the CBS affiliate KDKA in Pittsburgh as news director from 1970 to 1972.

KYW Later in 1972, Salzman moved to Philadelphia, where he became the station manager at KYW. He launched the syndicated strip programs Everyday and The Peter Marshall Show while running Group W.

NIWS He moved to Los Angeles in 1978 and left Group W to create NIWS (News Informational Weekly Service), a nationally syndicated news service. NIWS ran in over 200 domestic markets, providing pre-packaged human interest news stories that subscriber stations could incorporate into their local broadcasts. Salzman quickly became a pioneer in the news industry. These series were produced at the Lorimar-Telepictures Studios (formerly MGM Studios), which is now Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Warner Bros. buyout In 1989, Lorimar-Telepictures was acquired by Warner Bros. Salzman became President of Warner Bros. Television, where he also oversaw sales and marketing operations for television cable and satellite companies outside of the U.S. Warner Bros. expanded international telecommunications interests. In 1990, he left Lorimar Television to start Millennium Productions, which was eventually renamed to David Salzman Entertainment, pooling the resources of affiliated production houses Lorimar Television and Telepictures Productions. Under his watch, he produced The Jenny Jones Show, and the CBS show Dark Justice.

Quincy Jones-David Salzman Entertainment Still under the Warner banner, Salzman co-founded Quincy Jones-David Salzman Entertainment with Quincy Jones, which produced well-known shows such as Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and In the House. In the following year, Salzman produced the movie Steel starring NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Salzman has produced more than 15,000 hours of television, including fifteen seasons of MADtv. Salzman also produced the 1993 Clinton Presidential Inauguration event at the Lincoln Memorial with Jones, along with the Concert of the Americas. On March 1, 2000, he joined Enigma Digital as a member of the board of directors.

Television stations In a return to his roots, Salzman has co-owned several television stations. Early on in his career, Salzman sold a license for a WB station in Syracuse. Soon after, Salzman founded and owned KCWE in Kansas City and co-founded and co-owned WBWB in Louisville. He also oversaw the station group for the minority-run QWEST Broadcasting Stations with partners Sonia Salzman, Geraldo Rivera, Willie Davis, Don Cornelius, and Tribune Media. In addition to this, he also owned WATL in Atlanta, KMID in Midland, WSPR in Springfield, and WNOL in New Orleans, which he eventually sold the license to News Corp.

AMGEN Tour of California In 2006, Salzman co-founded the AMGEN Tour of California. The Tour of California is the only event on the top-level World Tour in the United States and is America's largest professional cycling event.

Filmography YearTitleRole1961–1981 The Mike Douglas Show executive producer 1990–1996 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air producer 1994 On Trial executive producer, writer 2005 Their Eyes Were Watching God co-executive producer 2016 MADtv 20th Anniversary Reunion executive producer