Brandon Tartikoff

A creative and highly competitive television executive who spent nearly his entire career in network broadcasting, Brandon Tartikoff took over a flailing NBC in the early 1980s and at 31 years old became the youngest president in the network's history. With such iconic series as "Hill Street Blues" (NBC, 1981-87), "Miami Vice" (NBC, 1984-89) and "The Cosby Show" (NBC, 1984-1992), Tartikoff turned the fortunes of NBC around to make it the most successful network for the ensuing two decades. In 1987, following more hits like "The Golden Girls" (1985-1992) and "L.A. Law" (1986-1994), Tartikoff simultaneously held the title of president of NBC Productions and had earned a reputation as a master of scheduling. Credited as the chief architect of the network's supremacy in primetime TV during the 1980s, he eventually left the Peacock Network in 1991 to attend to his daughter following a near-fatal car accident. Tartikoff embarked on a number of film and television endeavors, often under his own banner, while also serving briefly as the chairman of Paramount Pictures and New World Entertainment. Having twice battled Hodgkin's disease early in his life, Tartikoff finally succumbed to the cancer in 1997, leaving behind a legacy as one of television's most brilliant programming gurus.