Douglas S. Cramer is one of the most successful producers in the
history of television, and a well-known collector of modern art who has
served on the boards of numerous museums. He began as a TV executive
for Proctor & Gamble in the late 1950s after earning a Master's degree
from Columbia University. He skyrocketed to prominence throughout the
1960s, serving as an Executive Vice President at 20th Century-Fox, head
of Paramount TV (where he worked on
Drei Mädchen und drei Jungen (1969),
Kobra, übernehmen Sie (1966)
and Männerwirtschaft (1970),
among many others) and head of programming at ABC Television, where he
was the boss of future moguls Barry Diller
and Michael Eisner.
In the late 1960s Cramer became an independent producer, creating TV
movies and series. He went on to produce the first mini-series,
QB VII (1974) (winner of multiple
Emmys), over 100 made-for-TV movies and such successful such as
Love Boat (1977),
Der Denver-Clan (1981),
Die Colbys - Das Imperium (1985),
Matt Houston (1982),
Vegas (1978),
Wonder Woman (1975) and many
others, dominating the ABC line-up for several years, and shooting
dozens of TV series pilots. He was an equal partner with
Aaron Spelling for nearly 15 years
(1974-1989), during which he amassed a considerable fortune, even as he
generally stayed behind the scenes.
Once he and Spelling ended their partnership, Cramer's incredible
string of successes came to an end. In 1989 he managed just one more
big success: a multi-year deal to do 23
Danielle Steel movies for NBC. At this
time Cramer met and fell in love with writer
Hugh Bush and began to develop projects almost
exclusively for him to write, direct and produce. This included
Cramer's only feature film,
Sleeping Together (1997), which
Cramer self-financed for Bush to write and direct but which never found
theatrical distribution. While ex-partner Spelling continued to succeed
with such mega-hits as
Melrose Place (1992) and
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990),
Cramer's instincts seemed to fall out of step with the changing tastes
of the public, as he experienced repeated failures for the first time
in his career. Unable to sell television or film projects, Cramer
retreated to Manhattan, where he continues to enjoy life as a patron of
the arts with Bush as a domestic partner. Although now openly gay,
Cramer was married to gossip columnist
Joyce Haber and had two children,
Douglas S. Cramer III and
Courtney Cramer. Haber, related to
prominent agent Bill Haber, tragically died
of cancer. Also tragic was the suicide of Courtney Cramer before the
age of 30, and the estrangement of Cramer's son Douglas S. Cramer III.
Despite this personal turmoil, Cramer's career skyrocketed him to the
heights of a TV mogul, making him worth an estimated $300 million at
his zenith, with his $100-million modern art collection counted among
the largest in the world. Once the owner of numerous enviable estates
around the world, Cramer has since scaled back to Manhattan, Martha's
Vineyard, and Roxbury, where he now lives with Hugh Bush.
