Herb Solow obit

Herb Solow, Producer Who Sold ‘Star Trek’ to NBC, Dies at 89

 

He was not on the list.

Herbert F. Solow, a longtime television executive who pitched the original “Star Trek” series to NBC while he was at Desilu Studios, along with “Mission Impossible” and “Mannix,” died on Thursday, his wife, Dr. Harrison Solow, confirmed. He was 89.

In later years, he and his wife wrote several books on the “Star Trek” series, including “Inside Star Trek: The Real Story” and “The Star Trek Sketchbook.”

Solow was brought in by Lucille Ball after her divorce from Desi Arnaz to help revive Desilu Studios, where he helped develop and sell “Star Trek” to NBC — after CBS originally turned it down because it already had “Lost in Space” — as well as “Mission: Impossible” and “Mannix” to CBS.

Solow helped guide “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry on their pitch to the network, and continued to champion the series until Ball herself got behind the effort.

Solow told the publication Carpe Articulum that he came up with the idea of presenting the story as a flashback. “I made a key change whereby we treated every episode, the whole series, as a flashback and invented Star Date,” he said. “A flashback is very interesting. People become kind of relaxed with the characters and the story knowing what they were watching had already happened. We’re not dealing with the future, absolutely not, we’re dealing with telling a story from the past. The Captain’s Log setup each show. Bottom-line, telling the story from the past was a huge plus.”

He also helped persuade Roddenberry that Spock should retain the pointed ears, but lose the devilish long tail and red face.

Although Solow is often credited with being the first to call Gene Roddenberry "The Great Bird of the Galaxy", drawn from one of George Takei's throwaway lines, as Mr. Sulu, from the original series episode "The Man Trap", it was actually Robert Justman who coined the phrase. Solow thought the name was silly.

Born in New York, Solow started out at William Morris, then joined NBC in New York, where he established the international television sales division. After moving to Los Angeles, he oversaw development and production for NBC’s syndicated programs and created the series “Boots and Saddles.”

He had a stint in daytime programming at CBS, where he oversaw shows such as “Art Linkletter’s House Party,” before rejoining NBC, where he worked with Grant Tinker and supervised production of “Let’s Make a Deal.”

After Gulf & Western purchased Desilu, Solow left to become VP of worldwide television production at MGM, which had gotten out of the television business. Solow revived the TV arm, developing shows including “Then Came Bronson,” “Medical Center” and “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” and sold all three in the same week to the three networks.

At MGM, he went on to serve as VP of worldwide motion picture and television production, and headed MGM’s Culver City studios and the Borehamwood studios in England, working with directors including Robert Altman, Blake Edwards and David Lean.

Solow produced the MGM documentary feature “Elvis: That’s the Way It Was,” working closely with the singer.

He segued into independent production, writing and producing television movies and working with comedian Don Rickles. Then as a VP at Hanna-Barbera, he produced live-action productions such as “Man From Atlantis.”

Moving into features, he produced films including “Brimstone & Treacle,” “Get Crazy” and “Saving Grace” with Tom Conti.

Solow and his wife spent several years in Wales, where he became an honorary visiting research fellow at the University of Wales. He was a member of the WGA, the DGA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he served on several nominating committees.

He is survived by his wife, three daughters and a grandson.

 

Production Manager

The Man Hunters

TV Special

executive In charge of production

1971

 

The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969)

The Courtship of Eddie's Father

7.3

TV Series

executive in charge of production

unit production manager

1969–1971

49 episodes

 

James Daly in Medical Center (1969)

Medical Center

7.1

TV Series

executive in charge of production

1969–1970

26 episodes

 

Michael Parks in Then Came Bronson (1969)

Then Came Bronson

8.0

TV Series

executive in charge of production

1969

7 episodes

 

Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Peter Graves, Peter Lupus, and Greg Morris in Mission: Impossible (1966)

Mission: Impossible

7.9

TV Series

executive in charge of production

1966–1968

53 episodes

 

Mike Connors in Mannix (1967)

Mannix

7.4

TV Series

executive in charge of production

1967–1968

24 episodes

 

Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek (1966)

Star Trek

8.4

TV Series

executive in charge of production

1966–1968

54 episodes

 

Noel Harrison and Stefanie Powers in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966)

The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.

6.6

TV Series

executive in charge of production

1966–1967

28 episodes

 

The Long Hunt of April Savage

7.5

TV Movie

executive in charge of production

1966

 

A Man Called Shenandoah (1965)

A Man Called Shenandoah

7.7

TV Series

production manager

1965–1966

34 episodes

 

Producer

Saving Grace (1986)

Saving Grace

6.9

producer

1986

 

Get Crazy (1983)

Get Crazy

6.6

executive producer (as Herbert Solow)

1983

 

Dragana Varagic in Veliki transport (1983)

Veliki transport

5.8

executive producer

1983

 

Brimstone & Treacle (1982)

Brimstone & Treacle

6.4

producer

1982

 

Patrick Duffy in Man from Atlantis (1977)

Man from Atlantis

6.5

TV Series

executive producer

producer

1977–1978

17 episodes

 

McLaren's Riders (1977)

McLaren's Riders

TV Movie

producer

1977

 

The Don Rickles Show - Mr. Warmth

TV Movie

executive producer

1975

 

Killdozer (1974)

Killdozer

5.0

TV Movie

producer

1974

 

Heatwave! (1974)

Heatwave!

5.8

TV Movie

producer

1974

 

Fess Parker in Climb an Angry Mountain (1972)

Climb an Angry Mountain

6.6

TV Movie

executive producer

1972

 

Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970)

Elvis: That's the Way It Is

7.9

producer

1970

 

The Wolf Men

6.6

executive in charge of production

1969

 

Vacation Playhouse (1963)

Vacation Playhouse

7.9

TV Series

producer (as Herbert Solow)

1967

1 episode

 

Writer

Inside Star Trek: The Real Story (1998)

Inside Star Trek: The Real Story

6.6

Video

Writer

1998

 

Patrick Duffy in Man from Atlantis (1977)

Man from Atlantis

6.5

TV Series

co-creator (creator)

1977–1978

16 episodes

 

Killdozer (1974)

Killdozer

5.0

TV Movie

adaptation

1974

 

Heatwave! (1974)

Heatwave!

5.8

TV Movie

story

1974