Harvey Frand

Harvey Frand (October 3, 1940 – July 23, 2009) was an American television producer who worked across four decades in network and cable television. He is best known for his work on the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, on which he served as producer and later supervising producer from the 2003 miniseries through the 2009 television film The Plan. That body of work brought him a shared Primetime Emmy Award in 2008, a Peabody Award in 2005, and American Film Institute recognition.

Before Battlestar Galactica, Frand spent more than two decades in series television and movies of the week, with credits including the CBS fantasy drama Beauty and the Beast, the ABC Western The Young Riders, the TNT period series The Lazarus Man, and the NBC drama The Pretender. He also co-produced the 1974–75 Broadway revival of Sweet Bird of Youth.

Early life and education

Frand was born on October 3, 1940, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied political science at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a master's degree.

Career

After graduating, Frand began his television career at NBC News. When sent to San Diego to check on the production, he found himself filling in as an on-site producer in the absence of one already in place, an experience he credited as decisive in his turn toward hands-on producing. He followed this with The Devlin Connection (1982), an NBC detective series starring Rock Hudson. — and the ABC period Western The Young Riders.

In 1991 he produced the television film Into the Badlands for TNT and in 1994 the science fiction film New Eden. Frand told a reporter at the time: "We're trying to depict historic events as accurately as possible." He subsequently produced the NBC drama The Pretender (1996–97), the ABC science fiction series Strange World (1999), and the Disney Channel television film Up, Up, and Away! (2000). He continued through the series as a supervising producer beginning with the third season, before also working on the webisode series Razor Flashbacks (2007), The Face of the Enemy (2008–09), and the television film The Plan (2009). A second Emmy nomination in the same category followed for The Face of the Enemy.

Frand died on July 23, 2009, following a brief hospitalization for respiratory problems in Los Angeles, A documentary short, Thank You for Your Call, subsequently used Bowersock's experience to raise awareness of the legal disparities facing same-sex couples at the time.

Donations in Frand's memory were directed to the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles' Alive Music Project.

Selected television credits

+ Selected television work Year Title Network Role Notes 1979 California Fever CBS Producer 1982 The Devlin Connection NBC Producer 1985–89 The Twilight Zone CBS / Syndication Producer 34 episodes 1987–90 Beauty and the Beast CBS Producer Emmy nominated 1989–92 The Young Riders ABC Producer 1991 Into the Badlands TNT Producer Television film 1994 New Eden Producer Television film 1996 The Lazarus Man TNT Producer 1996–97 The Pretender NBC Producer 1999 Strange World ABC Producer 2000 Up, Up, and Away! Disney Channel Producer Television film 2003 Battlestar Galactica Sci Fi Producer Miniseries 2004–06 Battlestar Galactica Sci Fi Producer Seasons 1–2 2005 Painkiller Jane Sci Fi Producer Television film 2006–09 Battlestar Galactica Sci Fi / Syfy Supervising producer Seasons 3–4 2007 Bionic Woman NBC Producer 2007 Razor Flashbacks Sci Fi Channel online Supervising producer Webisodes; Emmy winner 2008–09 The Face of the Enemy Syfy.com Producer Webisodes; Emmy nominated 2009 Battlestar Galactica: The Plan Syfy Producer Television film; released posthumously