Ted Nathanson
Ted Nathanson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benedict Gimbel III 1925 |
| Died | June 6, 1997 (age 72) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Edith Landesman |
| Children | Michael Nathanson Laura Nathanson Knobloch Carla Nathanson Hoffman |
| Parent(s) | Benedict Gimbel Jr. Ethel S. Nathanson |
| Family | Adam Gimbel (great-grandfather) Sally Phipps (step-mother) |
Edward "Ted" Nathanson (1925 – June 6, 1997) was an American television director.
Biography
[edit]Born Benedict Gimbel III to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, the son of Ethel S. (née Nathanson) and Benedict Gimbel Jr. and the great-grandson of Adam Gimbel of the Gimbel Brothers retailing family.[1][2] His father was the president and general manager of WIP, one of the first radio stations in Philadelphia.[3][4] He changed his name to Edward Nathanson (the surname of his mother) after his parents divorced.[1] (His father remarried in 1931 to actress Sally Phipps although they divorced in 1935).[5] During World War II, he volunteered for the American Field Service as an ambulance driver in Europe for Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery's Eighth Army.[1] After the war, he worked for CBS, ABC and then NBC where he directed the original Tonight Show and the Today Show.[2]
He then became the coordinating producer of football and tennis for NBC Sports, where he directed 13 consecutive Super Bowls, 21 consecutive Wimbledon tennis championships,[1] the 1972 Winter Olympics, and the 1988 Summer Olympics.[2] He also directed a wide variety of television shows including game shows, political conventions, and sporting events including major league baseball, boxing, college football, hockey, and golf.[1] He was one of the first to utilize hand-held and remote-controlled cameras.[1] He remained at NBC for 37 years.[1]
He was the first person to receive the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award for sports-related broadcasting.[1]
Personal life
[edit]He died on June 6, 1997, in Manhattan of lung cancer.[1] He was survived by his wife, Edith (née Landesman), a producer he met while working at ABC;[2][6] and three children, Michael Nathanson, Laura Nathanson Knobloch, and Carla Nathanson Hoffman.[1][7][8] All three of his children worked in the industry: Laura retired as Senior Vice President at ABC Television; Carla with the David Letterman Show; and Michael as president of MGM Pictures.[2] His wife died in 2020.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sandomir, Richard (June 7, 1997). "Ted Nathanson, 72, Director Of NBC Sports and News Shows". New York Times.
- ^ a b c d e "Edward Nathanson". Variety. June 12, 1997.
- ^ "Benedict Gimbel, Jr". Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia.
- ^ "Benedict Gimbel Jr., 71, Dies; Had Owned Radio Station WIP". The New York Times. February 6, 1971.
- ^ Diliberto, Gioia (February 24, 2008). "The Flapper Doesn't Change Her Spots". New York Times.
- ^ a b "Nathanson-Edith Landesman, passed away Friday evening, April 10, 2020". The New York Times. April 15, 2020.
- ^ "David Hoffman Wed To Carla Nathanson". New York Times. September 28, 1986. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- ^ "Peter Knobloch Wed To Laura Nathanson". New York Times. February 5, 1989. Retrieved April 27, 2018.