An incredibly prolific producer or executive producer of small screen fare, David L Wolper created the standard for TV documentaries in the 1960s, produced popular sitcoms in the 70s, and then went on to secure his place in history as the executive producer of miniseries such as the ground-breaking "Roots" (ABC, 1977) and "The Thorn Birds" (ABC, 1983). Boasting more than 145 Emmy nominations for his productions, as well an Oscar for the 1971 documentary about insect life "The Hellstrom Chronicle", Wolper is a celebrated TV icon, a mainstay of the industry who has run his own shop, but since 1976 has been based at Warner Bros. where he not only oversees a long list of productions, but consults to parent company Time Warner, Inc. as well.
Wolper broke into show business in the money and sales end, serving as vice president and treasurer of Flamingo Films from 1948-50 and eventually becoming vice president in charge of West Coast operations (1950-54) where he excelled in sales to the TV networks and syndicated markets. In 1958, Wolper opened his own production company and two years later made his presence known producing "The Making of the President" for ABC. In 1964, he repeated the same concept for CBS, and in 1968 made yet another "Making of the President". But by that time, Wolper's organization, with its staff including Stan Margulies, Robert Guenette, Alan Landsburg, Andrew Solt, and Mel Stuart, was churning out documentary programming ranging from the famed "Biography" series narrated by Mike Wallace (syndicated, 1962-63). to "The March of Time" (1965-66), "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" (1966-68), "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (1967-68), "Appointment With Destiny" (1971-73), and a host of other documentary classics, including THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC specials from 1965-75.
Wolper served as vice president of Metromedia, to whom he had sold his company, from 1965 to 1968 when he created a new organization under his own banner. During this period, his TV work included the ABC documentary "The Unfinished Business of Robert Kennedy" (1969), the short-lived action series "Get Christie Love!" (ABC, 1974-75), and the sitcoms "Chico and the Man" (NBC, 1974-78), which made the late Freddie Prinze a star, and "Welcome Back, Kotter" (ABC, 1975-79), with its take of a teacher who returns to his Brooklyn high school to guide John Travolta and pals to adulthood. By 1976, Wolper's organization has been merged with his partner on the latter series, Warner Bros., and his banner on the corner of Third Street and LaCienega Boulevard in Los Angeles was no more. But Wolper's greatest TV successes were to come. ABC, Warner Bros. and Wolper joined together to produce Alex Haley's "Roots", the story of several generations of an African American family from its roots in Africa to being sold into slavery to eventual freedom. Its January 1977 airing over consecutive nights was a national phenomenon and made ratings history, earning that season's Emmy Award as Outstanding Limited Series. Wolper had a hand in the 1979 sequel "Roots: The Next Generations", which took the Haley family from Reconstruction to modern times and he tapped Haley's family twice more, with "Roots: The Gift" (ABC, 1988), which tied Kunte Kinte, the original African member of the Haley family, to a Christmas story, and "Queen" (CBS, 1993), which told the story of Haley's paternal side. As a producer, Wolper also oversaw the "Moviola" (NBC, 1980), based on Garson Kanin's tales of Hollywood, "North and South" (ABC, 1985) and "North and South, Book II" (ABC, 1986), adapted from John Jakes' Civil War-era novels, "The Thorn Birds" (ABC, 1983), based on Colleen McCullough's tale of love and lust in the Outback of Australia, and its sequel "The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years" (ABC, 1996). Additionally, he was the guiding force behind such acclaimed made-for-TV films as "Victory at Entebbe" (ABC, 1976) and the biopic "The Betty Ford Story" (ABC, 1987), which was one of the first telefeatures to delve deeply into recovery programs for substance abusers.
Wolper has had less heralded success in feature films, but his track record is hardly minor, particularly with feature length documentaries. Besides "The Hellstrom Chronicle" and the famed music documentary on the sounds of soul, "Wattstax" (1973), he and Andrew Solt produced "Imagine: John Lennon" (1988). His other films are an eclectic bunch running the gamut from the tourist romp "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" (1969) to the children's tale, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971) to two war epics "The Devil's Brigade" (1968) and "The Bridge at Remagen" (1969) and the courtroom drama "Murder in the First" (1995).
A heart attack in middle age was said to have calmed Wolper down, but did not slow his output. A white-haired, pale-skinned dynamo, he could be seemingly shy and reserved, but when discussing his projects could burst forth with such passion as to have an interviewer, buyer or just listener enraptured. In the 90, his son, Mark Wolper, joined his organization and began to take an forefront role in the production of many of the projects emanating from the company.