Tufts On Tv -- Coming To A Living Room Near Your

Medford/Somerville, Mass -- It is difficult to turn on the TV these days without seeing their work. From critically acclaimed actors and actresses to the heads of the most successful television studios in Hollywood, they are a powerhouse of talent. And they pack a big punch. Armed with Tufts degrees, and their visions for the small screen, a growing collection of graduates is shaping the face of television

   Chances are, you're familiar with their work.

   The statistics are staggering -- Tufts alums helped create, produce, write and star in over 80 television shows that are on the air now. Of those, at least a dozen are premiering this season -- at least one on every major network. Their successes have led to at least one Emmy nomination in each of the last ten years -- in 2000, they helped secure 14 Emmys, not counting the daytime and sports shows.

   From primetime to daytime, the morning news to late night TV, Tufts alums are taking America's small screens by storm.

Priming the Primetime Pump

   Tonight marks the official start of the fall television schedules, when the major networks begin the battle for primetime dominance. At their disposal: an arsenal of TV's hottest comedies and dramas.

   1983 Tufts graduate Oliver Platt hopes his new drama "Deadline" will secure a place on TVs around the country, beginning with tonight's premier. This is the actor's first gig as a television star, though he has graced the big screen in films including Lake Placid, Bullworth, Simon Birch and Dr. Doolittle.

   A number of other primetime dramas start their seasons this week, including West Wing, Third Watch, Dawson's Creek, The Fugitive, The Street and Bull -- all of which are projects of Tufts grads.

   Peter Roth, the head of Warner Brothers Television and 1972 Tufts graduate, has developed a number of television's top dramas, including West Wing, Third Watch and The Fugitive. His work on West Wing, which took home nine Emmys in September, earned him accolades from the show's cast and crew.

   "Peter Roth and Warner Brothers have nurtured the West Wing, playing an enormous role in the show's success," West Wing executive producer Thomas Schlamme told Daily Variety. West Wing, as well as a banner year for Warner Brothers' other shows, helped Roth and company earn 43 Emmy nominations in 2000, the most nominations for any studio.

   But Roth isn't the only studio exec with top-notch credentials. With series including Mad About You, Party of 5, Dawson's Creek and Family Law, Eric Tannenbaum left his position atop Columbia TriStar Television to found and lead Artists Talent Group (ATG) -- one of the hottest television studios in Hollywood. The only studio with a new show on every major network, ATG promises to turn heads this fall.

   "When we started this company, we decided on a very aggressive strategy that would allow ATG to impact television right from the start" said Tannenbaum, a 1985 Tufts graduate.

Roth and Tannenbaum's shows will be competing against the work of their fellow Tufts grads. Rob Burnett, a 1984 graduate of Tufts and President and CEO of WorldWide Pants -- has a few top-rated shows under his belt this season, including Everybody Loves Raymond and the critically acclaimed new comedy Ed.

   Burnett told New Jersey's Bergen Record that Ed is based on his own life and experiences... at least, in part. "If you're a guy like me or Jon [Beckerman, co-producer of Ed], you write about stuff you know, and then you go out and get a guy that's better looking to pull it off."

   1989 alum Kenny Schwartz's Two Guys and A Girl is entering its fourth season on ABC, since he helped create the series in 1998. Schwartz's Tufts connections are quite visible in the comedy, which is set at Tufts. Two of the three main characters (the "two guys") are Tufts students and the University's sweatshirts, pennants and banners are regular fixtures on the set.

   1984 grads Jeff Strauss and Jeff Greenstein were producers and writers for Friends, before creating several other shows including Partners and Vivica Fox's comedy Getting Personal. Buddies at Tufts, the pair headed for Los Angeles after graduation, where they sold scripts to Family Ties, Mr. Belvedere and Perfect Strangers before their gig on Friends.

   They told the New York Times, "This is the best thing we've ever done. Its coming from our hearts and souls and lives. And if this doesn't work, what else can we do?"

   Of course, the list goes on and on. 1988 grad Hank Azaria will continue to supply a host of voices for Simpsons' characters, while 1971 graduate Coral Hawthorne continues to produce the Hughleys on UPN. You can also catch the work of Tufts grads on some re-runs. Hawthorne's stint prior to the Hughleys, was as a producer on In Living Color. 1929 graduate Jester Hairston -- who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his stage and film work -- played Deacon Rolly Forbes on Amen for many years.

Up All Night

   Up All Night While Rob Burnett's newest project, Ed, is poised for success in primetime, his biggest successes have been made on the televisions of late night viewers. For the last three years, Burnett had accepted Emmy Awards on behalf of the Late Show With David Letterman, where Burnett serves as executive producer. He says the success of the show lies, in large part, on the shoulders of its writers.

   "We really try to load up these shows with as much comedy as we can," Burnett told Daily Variety. It seems he had enough material left over for some additional shows. In 1994, Burnett mused, "I would enjoy developing another TV show with Dave and Dave's company -- WorldWide Pants Inc. -- just because I love the name of the company." Just six years later, Burnett is the head cheese at WorldWide Pants, which now produces hit shows including The Late, Late Show With Craig Kilborn, Everybody Loves Raymond and Ed.

Gift Of Gab and The Back Stab

   While primetime television is arguably the most watched TV, daytime television is easily the most talked about. Between the soap operas and daytime talk shows, Tufts graduates have a pretty good grasp of the world of daytime TV.

   Meredith Vieira -- a 1975 Tufts graduate -- is perhaps one of the most visible faces on daytime television. A host on The View, Vieira covers the gamut of topics on the talk show circuit. Her work has helped the show earn a host of Daytime Emmy nominations, including 3 straight nomination for top talkshow host. While Vieira has a grip on "gab," several Tufts grads have tried their hands at the ever-popular soap opera "back stab."

Hilary Edson, a 1987 Tufts graduate, is the veteran of three soaps, playing the parts of Eve Guthrie on Guiding Light, Stacey Winthrope on Another World and Tanya Roskov Jones on General Hospital. The English and French major's work on Guiding Light earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Edson's soap opera career began during her senior year at Tufts, when she was hired by General Hospital just two days after her audition for the show.

   Tufts' Roy Steinberg -- a 1973 graduate -- has also made a mark on daytime TV. The producer's work on Guiding Light helped the show earn three-straight Daytime Emmy nominations for best series.

   Also, Tufts graduates have written, produced and hosted Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Leeza, Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition. But daytime television isn't just talk and soaps -- there's also childrens' programming. It is here, that Tufts graduates may have made the biggest impact.

   Todd Kessler, a 1980 graduate, changed the face of children's programming with his creation Blue's Clues. An immediate sensation, Blue's Clues is now being compared to Sesame Street for its domination of the children's market. It is also hailed as one of the most creative children's shows on television.

   "The idea is not to tell kids what to think, but to encourage them to think for themselves," Kessler told Daily Variety. Kessler credits Sesame Street for helping to shape the direction of children's television for so many years. Fellow Tufts graduate Joe Diaz would likely agree. The 1983 Tufts graduate is the president of Children's Television Workshop and he oversees the continuing development of Sesame Street, among many other projects.

From Deadline To Dateline

   It seems fitting that Oliver Platt plays an investigative reporter on his new drama Deadline. While the show isn't modeled on a Tufts graduate, it certainly could be. Tufts graduates are behind some of the best news programs on television, including Dateline NBC and 60 Minutes.

   A former producer for ABC's World News Tonight, Neal Shapiro knows a good story when he sees it. The 1980 Tufts alum took the reins at Dateline NBC in 1993, when the show was struggling for viewers and credibility. His work as executive producer in the seven years that followed helped the show rise through the television news ranks.

   Shapiro told the Boston Globe, "I really do think we turned the page."

   Shapiro isn't the only Tufts graduate with a strong news sense -- from ABC to NBC, CNNfn to New England Cable News, Tufts alums are behind the breaking news and feature stories that drive televised news.

   Among them:

   60 Minutes: Harry Radliffe (producer)
   CNNfn: Donald Van De Mark (host and reporter)
   ABC: Kristen Whiting (reporter for ABC's Lifetime Live)
   New England Cable News: RD Sahl (news anchor) and Jimmy Young (sports reporter).
   WBZ-4 News: John Davidow (assistant news director).

Online: http://www.tufts.edu/communications/printerversion/TuftsOnTVSpecialReport