Jamie Tarses Explained

Jamie Tarses
Birth Name:Sara James Tarses
Birth Date:16 March 1964
Birth Place:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
Death Place:Los Angeles, California, US
Other Names:Jamie McDermott
Alma Mater:Williams College
Occupation:Producer
Studio executive
Years Active:1985–2021
Known For:Friends
My Boys
Happy Endings
Partner:Paddy Aubrey
Children:2
Parents:Jay Tarses
Rachel Tarses

Sara James Tarses (March 16, 1964 – February 1, 2021) was an American television producer and television studio executive. She was the president of ABC Entertainment from 1996 to 1999, the first woman and one of the youngest people to hold such a post in an American broadcast network.[1]

Early life

Tarses was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of television writer Jay Tarses and Rachel Tarses (née Newdell), on March 19, 1964.[2] [3] Her younger sister, Mallory Tarses, is a fiction writer and high school English teacher,[4] and a younger brother, Matt Tarses, is a producer and screenwriter (The Goldbergs, Scrubs, Sports Night.[5]

Tarses graduated from Williams College in 1985[6] with a degree in theater.[7]

Career

Casting director

After graduating from college, Tarses became an assistant to the talent executive on the 1985–1986 season of Saturday Night Live. She then worked as a casting director for Lorimar Productions, filling roles for mid-run Perfect Strangers.[8]

Network executive

In September 1987, Tarses was hired by NBC Productions' Brandon Tartikoff as the manager of creative affairs. She climbed the corporate ladder at NBC until 1996. Here, she helped develop Friends, Mad About You, Frasier, NewsRadio, and Caroline in the City.[2] [9] In 1991, she passed on her father's pilot about jazz musicians, called Baltimore.

Tarses left NBC in 1996 amidst a significant amount of press coverage.[10] [11] From 1996 to 1999, she was president of ABC Entertainment.[12] [13] [14] She resigned in August 1999 with two years remaining on her contract.[2] At the time of her departure she had one sitcom, one comedy, and one legal drama on ABC's schedule. [15]

Tarses was the subject of what Bill Carter of The New York Times called an "unflattering profile" written by Lynn Hirschberg in The New York Times Magazine in July 1997, in which she "was portrayed as an embattled executive whose competence and professionalism was being questioned in Hollywood show business circles".[16] [17]

Amanda Peet, who played Jordan McDeere, the head of fictional network NBS on the NBC show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, said her character "is loosely based" on Tarses.[18] [19] Tarses was a consultant for Studio 60.

While at ABC, she helped develop and greenlight Dharma & Greg.[15]

Producer

In 2005, Tarses partnered on a production company called Pariah Productions with producer Gavin Polone.[20] Later, she had a company called FanFare Productions at Sony Pictures Television.[21]

Tarses was co-producer of My Boys, a comedy about a female sports reporter starring Jordana Spiro, on TBS cable television network from November 28, 2006, until September 14, 2010.[22] In 2010, she produced several television series, including Mr. Sunshine, Happy Endings, and Franklin & Bash.[23] [24] [25]

Personal life

Tarses married DreamWorks SKG television executive Dan McDermott in 1993. They divorced in 1996.[26] Tarses also dated Robert Morton, executive producer of Late Show with David Letterman, and Matthew Perry.[27] [28] She had two children, Wyatt and Sloane, with her partner Paddy Aubrey, an executive chef and restaurant owner.[2]

She served on the board of directors and the advisory board of directors for Young Storytellers, an arts education nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles.[2] [29] She was a volunteer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.[2]

Death

Tarses had a stroke in the fall of 2020, spent time in a coma, and then died in Los Angeles on February 1, 2021, at age 56 from what a family spokesperson called "complications of a cardiac event".[25] [30]

Filmography

TV series

TV movies

References

SpecificBibliography

Notes and References

  1. News: Carter. Bill. At Lunch With: Jamie Tarses – A Soap Opera Ends: Let the Comedies Begin. January 10, 2015. The New York Times. August 7, 1996.
  2. Web site: Jamie Tarses, Pioneering Television Executive, Dies at 56 . . Barnes . Mike . February 1, 2021 . February 1, 2021.
  3. Book: Wilson. Pamela. Newcomb . Horace. Jay Tarses. 1997 . Encyclopedia of Television. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers . Chicago . 9781884964268. January 10, 2015. Online edition at Museum of Broadcast Communications. registration.
  4. Web site: Faculty and Staff – Upper School » English. capefearacademy.org. Cape Fear Academy. January 10, 2015. July 14, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150714230353/http://www.capefearacademy.org/faculty-staff/upper-school/english. dead.
  5. Web site: Jay Tarses. TCM.com . . January 10, 2015.
  6. Web site: Jamie Tarses. TCM.com . Turner Classic Movies . January 10, 2015.
  7. Jacobs. A.J.. 'Friends' in high places? ABC woos the TV exec behind NBC's Friends and Frasier. January 10, 2015. . May 10, 1996 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150110091927/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292450,00.html . January 10, 2015.
  8. News: Daily News . May 25, 1997 . 486 . Maximum exposure . Huff . Richard .
  9. News: Eller. Claudia. Hofmeister. Sallie. Tabloids' Obsession With the ABC Exec Rewrites the Script : Tarses Saga Redefines Frenzy. January 10, 2015. Los Angeles Times. July 29, 1997.
  10. News: Carter. Bill. TV Notes; Executive Upheaval . January 10, 2015. The New York Times. June 12, 1996.
  11. News: Turner. Richard. Old Boys and New Girls. January 10, 2015. New York. March 25, 1996.
  12. News: Pierce. Scott D.. Strange reign of Jamie Tarses at ABC comes to a sudden end. January 10, 2015. Deseret News. August 31, 1999.
  13. News: Carter. Bill. Tarses Says She's Staying at ABC. January 10, 2015. The New York Times. July 23, 1997.
  14. News: Carter. Bill. The Media Business; Amid Changes, ABC's Top Programmer Quits. January 10, 2015. The New York Times. August 27, 1999.
  15. News: Carter. Bill. 1999-08-30. TV Executive: Young, Female and Unemployed (Published 1999). en-US. The New York Times. 2021-02-03. 0362-4331.
  16. News: Hirschberg. Lynn. Network Drama at ABC: Jamie Tarses' Fall, as Scheduled. January 10, 2015. The New York Times. July 13, 1997.
  17. News: Bart. Peter. More than meets the eye in Tarses-bashing. January 10, 2015. Variety. July 23, 1997.
  18. Amanda Peet segment, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, October 20, 2006. Peet: "I'm the head of network … The role is loosely based on Jamie Tarses…".
  19. News: de Moraes. Lisa. NBC's 'Saturday Night' Fever: How Many Series About a Sketch Show Can It Run?. January 10, 2015. The Washington Post. May 5, 2006.
  20. News: Adalian. Josef. Tarses pacts with Polone. January 10, 2015. Variety. September 21, 2005.
  21. News: Schneider. Michael. Jamie Tarses: Primetime comeback. January 10, 2015. Variety. September 30, 2010.
  22. Web site: Back in the game . Smith . Lynne . . E1 . November 24, 2006 . . February 1, 2021.
  23. Web site: 'Mr. Sunshine' can't cut through the clouds . February 9, 2011 . . G3 . Gilbert . Matthew . . February 1, 2021.
  24. Web site: 'Endings' is off to a promising start . February 9, 2011 . . Lloyd . Robert . . February 1, 2021.
  25. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . Jamie Tarses Dies: Trailblazing TV Executive & Producer Was 56 . Deadline . February 1, 2021 . February 1, 2021.
  26. News: The Press Democrat . August 18, 1996 . 33 . ABC's wunderkind comes out on top . Carter. Bill .
  27. News: Frankel. Daniel. Tarses-Morton Split Blamed for Sitcom Downfall . January 10, 2015. E! Online. November 10, 1997.
  28. Book: Perry, Matthew . Friends, lovers, and the big terrible thing: a memoir . Kudrow . Lisa . 2022 . Flatiron Books . 978-1-250-86644-8 . First U.S. edition, first International . New York.
  29. Web site: Board of Directors . youngstorytellers.com . February 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210201200246/https://www.youngstorytellers.com/board . February 1, 2021 . live.
  30. News: Jamie Tarses, Executive in a Hollywood Rise-and-Fall Story, Dies at 56. The New York Times. February 1, 2021. February 1, 2021. Barnes. Brooks.
  31. News: Jamie Tarses' Fall, as Scheduled. Lynn. Hirschberg. July 13, 1997. February 1, 2021. The New York Times.
  32. News: Jamie Tarses, first female TV network entertainment head, dies at 56. Stephen. Battaglio. February 1, 2021. February 1, 2021. Los Angeles Times.
  33. News: Fox Developing Family Comedy 'Bastards' From 'Butter' Scribe. Lesley. Goldberg. September 6, 2012. February 1, 2021. The Hollywood Reporter.
  34. News: Amazon Studios Names Full Cast of 'Really' Comedy Pilot From Jay Chandrasekhar and Jamie Tarses. Todd. Spangler. June 20, 2014. February 1, 2021. Variety.
  35. News: 'Happy Endings' Creator's Roommates Comedy Gets Pilot Order at CBS. Lesley. Goldberg. February 7, 2014. February 1, 2021. The Hollywood Reporter.
  36. Web site: Your Family or Mine. Rotten Tomatoes. February 1, 2021.
  37. News: NBC takes chance on Tarses pilot. Josef. Adalian. February 14, 2001. February 1, 2021. Variety.
  38. Book: Mediaweek. ASM Communications. 2004. 14. 20. 9781476672069.
  39. News: Solo deals for Polone, Tarses. Nellie. Andreeva. January 23, 2007. February 1, 2021. The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press.
  40. Web site: Jamie Tarses. https://web.archive.org/web/20210207143643/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbbe45477. dead. February 7, 2021. British Film Institute. February 1, 2021.
  41. News: Milwaukee's new show now called "Backyards and Bullets". Jeff. Sherman. August 7, 2007. OnMilwaukee. February 1, 2021.
  42. Web site: Jamie Tarses. Rotten Tomatoes. October 22, 2020.
  43. News: Fox tapping Waters for 'Eva Adams'. Cynthia. Littleton. October 12, 2008. February 1, 2021. Variety.
  44. News: 'Happy Endings' Quartet Land Pilot Order at Comedy Central. Lesley. Goldberg. April 2, 2014. February 1, 2021. The Hollywood Reporter.

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