LB: R.I.P. Film & TV Producer-Director Alan Landsburg

alan-landsburgWhen I came to L.A. in the late ’90s to try and make my showbiz mark, one of the first producers I met was Alan Landsburg.

I probably spent literally dozens of hours pitching to him in the crowded North Hollywood house that his company, Alan Landsburg Productions, was headquartered in. (Alan, of course, lived in Beverly Hills.)

I never sold him anything but always had a great time because I was being treated with courtesy and respect by a man I in turn respected, both personally and creatively. And I learned! Oh, did I learn from those conversations…and from just being in the office, observing as pre-production, production, and post-production crises collided. Talk about a crash course.

Look at these amazing credits from IMDB:

That’s Incredible! (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1997Country Justice (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1996The Lottery (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1995If Someone Had Known (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1992A Mother’s Right: The Elizabeth Morgan Story (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1991Nightmare in Columbia County (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1991Prisoners of Wedlock (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1990In Defense of a Married Man (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1990CBS Schoolbreak Special (TV Series) (executive producer – 1 episode)

– Maggie’s Secret (1990) … (executive producer)
 1990So Proudly We Hail (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1990Unspeakable Acts (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1989The Ryan White Story (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1988A Stoning in Fulham County (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1988Too Young the Hero (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1988A Place at the Table (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1987Strange Voices (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1987Long Gone (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1986Adam: His Song Continues (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1986The Parent Trap II (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1986True Confessions (TV Series) (producer – 1 episode)

– Episode #2.3 (1986) … (producer)

 1984The Glory Boys (TV Series) (executive producer – 3 episodes)

– Episode #1.3 (1984) … (executive producer)
– Episode #1.2 (1984) … (executive producer)
– Episode #1.1 (1984) … (executive producer)
 1983Kennedy (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer)
 1983Bill: On His Own (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1983Adam (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1983Jaws 3-D (executive producer)
 1983The Making of ‘Jaws 3-D’: Sharks Don’t Die (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1983Porky’s II: The Next Day (executive producer)
 1982The Future: What’s Next? (TV Series) (executive producer)
 1982Mysterious Two (TV Movie) (producer)

 In Search of… (TV Series documentary) (executive producer – 31 episodes, 1977 – 1982) (producer – 2 episodes, 1977)

– Life Before Birth (1982) … (executive producer)
– Time & Space Travel (1982) … (executive producer)
– The Human Aura (1982) … (executive producer)
– Ghosts in Photography (1981) … (executive producer)
– Great Lovers (1981) … (executive producer)
 1981Burned at the Stake (executive producer)
 1981Suddenly Single (TV Movie) (producer)
 1981The White Lions (executive producer)
 1981Bill (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1981A Long Way Home (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1981CBS Afternoon Playhouse (TV Series) (executive producer – 1 episode)

– Me and Mr. Stenner (1981) … (executive producer)
 1980The Jayne Mansfield Story (TV Movie) (producer)
 1980Baby Comes Home (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1980The Chisholms (TV Mini-Series) (executive producer – 9 episodes)

– The Siren Song (1980) … (executive producer)
– Chains (1980) … (executive producer)
– The Suitor (1980) … (executive producer)
– The Promised Land (1980) … (executive producer)
– Death in the Sierras (1980) … (executive producer)
 1980That’s Incredible! (TV Series) (executive producer)
 1980Marathon (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1979Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1979And Baby Makes Six (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1979Torn Between Two Lovers (TV Movie) (producer)
 1979The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1978Terror Out of the Sky (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1978Between the Wars (TV Series documentary) (executive producer)
 1978Ruby and Oswald (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1977Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1977Ants (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1976The Savage Bees (TV Movie) (executive producer: Alan Landsburg Productions)

 1976The Kids from C.A.P.E.R. (TV Series) (executive producer – 1 episode)

– King Cone (1976) … (executive producer)

 1975ABC Afterschool Specials (TV Series) (executive producer – 1 episode)

– Fawn Story (1975) … (executive producer)
 1975Fear on Trial (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1975The Wide World of Mystery (TV Series) (producer – 1 episode)

– Rock-a-Die Baby (1975) … (producer)
 1975The Outer Space Connection (Documentary) (producer)
 1974Murder in the First Person Singular (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1974The Small Miracle (TV Movie) (executive producer)
 1973Alan King in Las Vegas: Part II (TV Movie) (producer)
 1973Alan King in Las Vegas: Part I (TV Movie) (producer)
 1973In Search of Ancient Astronauts (TV Movie documentary) (producer)
 1973In Search of Ancient Mysteries (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1971Alaska Wilderness Lake (Documentary) (producer)
 1971It Was a Very Good Year (TV Series) (executive producer)
 1970A Storm in Summer (TV Movie) (producer)
 1970Black Water Gold (TV Movie) (producer)
 1969Hollywood: The Selznick Years (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1969Los Angeles: Where It’s At (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1969Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall (TV Movie) (producer)

 The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau (TV Series documentary) (executive producer – 6 episodes, 1968 – 1969) (producer – 2 episodes, 1968)

– The Desert Whales (1969) … (executive producer)
– The Unexpected Voyage of Pepito and Cristobal (1969) … (executive producer)
– Whales (1968) … (executive producer) / (producer)
– Search in the Deep (1968) … (executive producer) / (producer)
– Savage Worlds of the Coral Jungle (1968) … (executive producer)
 1968California (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)

 National Geographic Specials (TV Series documentary) (producer – 2 episodes, 1967 – 1968) (executive producer – 2 episodes, 1965 – 1967)

– Winged World (1967) … (producer)
– Alaska! (1967) … (executive producer)
– Savage World of the Coral Jungle (1965) … (executive producer)
 1968On the Trail of Stanley and Livingstone (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1968The World of Animals: Big Cats, Little Cats (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1968Certain Honorable Men (TV Movie) (producer)
 1968The World of Animals: The World of Horses (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1968Men from Boys: The First Eight Weeks (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
 1966Destination Safety (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer) / (producer)
 1966The World of Animals: It’s a Dog’s World (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer) / (producer)

 Time-Life Specials: The March of Time (TV Series documentary) (executive producer – 8 episodes, 1965 – 1966) (producer – 3 episodes, 1965)

– The Enterprise in Action (1966) … (executive producer)
– The Search for Vengence (1966) … (executive producer)
– The Longs: A Louisiana Dynasty (1966) … (executive producer)
– The Odyssey of the Automobile (1965) … (executive producer) / (producer)
– And Away We Go (1965) … (producer)
 1965October Madness: The World Series (TV Movie documentary) (producer)

 Men in Crisis (TV Series) (executive producer – 32 episodes, 1964 – 1965) (producer – 2 episodes, 1964)

– Halsey vs Yamamoto (1965) … (executive producer)
– Grant vs Lee (1965) … (executive producer)
– State vs Jimmy Walker (1965) … (executive producer)
– Kennedy vs Khrushchev (1965) … (executive producer)
– Nautilus vs the Arctic (1965) … (executive producer)
 1964A Thousand Days: A Tribute to John Fitzgerald Kennedy (TV Movie documentary) (producer)

 Biography (TV Series documentary) (associate producer – 44 episodes, 1961 – 1963) (producer – 15 episodes, 1962 – 1963)

– Wendell Willkie (1963) … (producer)
– Thomas E. Dewey (1963) … (associate producer)
– Queen Elizabeth II (1963) … (associate producer)
– Princess Margaret (1963) … (associate producer)
– Nikita Khrushchev (1963) … (associate producer)
And that isn’t even including his writer-director credits.
Rest in Peace indeed, Alan. You truly were a remarkable man.

Author: LB

A legendary figure in the television writing and production world with a career going back to the late ’60s, Larry Brody has written and produced hundreds of hours of American and worldwide television and is a consultant to production companies and networks in the U.S. and abroad . Shows written or produced by Brody have won several awards including - yes, it's true - Emmys, Writers Guild Awards, and the Humanitas Award.

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