Irv Wilson, Former Television Producer and NBC Exec, Dies at 93

Irv Wilson, a former television producer and NBC executive, died on Thursday. He was 93 years old.

Beginning his career in New York City, Wilson was a talent agent before he moved into TV programming. Working largely on TV movies from 1970-1980 — including executive producing “The Missiles of October” — as the VP of the TV movie department, he eventually became NBC’s Senior VP of Day Time and Late Night Programming.

Prior to that, he held the post of VP of the TV Movie department at NBC (’79-’80.) He worked alongside network legends such as Fred Silverman and Brandon Tartikoff. Wilson helped discover future filmmakers such as Ron Howard while supporting gifted playwrights like Stanley Greenberg, ushering in high quality, issue-oriented content to the burgeoning art form.

Wilson eventually returned to producing, with deals at Fries Entertainment and Viacom, where he made films starring Jerry Lewis, Martin Sheen, Telly Savalas, Bruce Dern, Morgan Freeman and more.

According to friends, Wilson was a “culturally complex maven,” an avid film and sports fan (specifically, the New York Giants baseball team) in addition to his love for and work with TV.

“Some of us make magic in our careers, others perform miracles at home with our families, while many just try to get by the best we can,” producer and friend Tom Nunan said. “There’s true human dignity in all of it, and Wilson explored the unheralded heroes in our culture, with an avid, personal interest. He loved the underdog — maybe because deep down, he always felt like one.”

Born Sep. 13, 1931, Wilson died after fighting a short illness, and is survived by his daughters Amy, Julie, and Kate, as well as his wife and partner, Anne Carlucci.

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