Television producer and network head Grant Tinker passed away at the age of 90 on November 28, 2016. Though he served as the chairman and CEO of NBC in the 1980s, he is perhaps better known as the co-founder of MTM Enterprises.
Tinker was born in Stamford, Connecticut, and served in the Army Air Forces during World War II. He spent time after college working in advertising, and also helped to develop The Dick Van Dyke Show. In 1962, he married Mary Tyler Moore, and together they would form MTM Enterprises in 1969. The company’s first television series would be The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and the company would later score big with hits such as Hill Street Blues, The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, and others.
Following his divorce from Moore in 1981, he left MTM and became the chairman and CEO of NBC. During his time at the network, NBC’s ratings shot up thanks to popular shows like Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court and The Golden Girls. Tinker left NBC in 1986.
In 1997, Tinker was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, and in 2004 he was awarded a personal Peabody Award “for recognizing, protecting and fostering creativity of the highest order.”