Ethel Winant

Ethel Winant (née Wald; August 5, 1922 – November 29, 2003) was the first woman executive in television when she became the vice-president of CBS in 1973. Winant was also a casting director for various shows including The Twilight Zone and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999.

Ethel Winant
Vice President of CBS
In office
1973–1975
Personal details
Born
Ethel Wald

(1922-08-05)August 5, 1922
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 29, 2003(2003-11-29) (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
CitizenshipUSA
SpouseH. M. Wynant (1951-1971; divorced)
Children3
OccupationExecutive
AwardsTelevision Hall of Fame (1999)

Early life and education

Ethel Wald was born on August 5, 1922, in Worcester, Massachusetts.[1] During her childhood, she grew up in Marysville, California.[2]

She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor's degree and Whittier College with a Master's degree in Theatre.[3]

Career

While in school, Winant worked behind the scenes in the Pasadena Playhouse. After graduation, she became a theatre producer in Los Angeles while working for the Lockheed Corporation as a riveter and later riveter instructor making P-38s during the Second World War.[4][5] At the end of the 1940s, Winant became an assistant to the producer for Broadway plays including A Streetcar Named Desire and Death of a Salesman.[6]

She began working in television during the 1950s as a casting director for Studio One and Playhouse 90. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Winant cast various CBS shows including The Twilight Zone, Hawaii Five-O, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.[4] She was promoted to vice-president of CBS in 1973 and became the first woman to hold an executive role in television.[4] After working at Children's Television Workshop in the late 1970s as a producer, Winant moved to NBC to become a vice president of TV movies and miniseries.[7] During the 1980s and 1990s, she was the producer of multiple programs including World War II: When Lions Roared and George Wallace.[3]

Death

Ethel Winant died in Los Angeles on November 29, 2003, aged 81.[1]

Awards and honors

During the 1990s, Winant was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie on three separate occasions.[8]

In 1999, Ethel Winant was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.[9]

Personal life

Winant was married to actor H. M. Wynant from 1951 until their divorce in 1971. They had three children.[1]

References
  1. Lavietes, Stuart (14 December 2003). "Ethel Winant, 81, Pioneering Woman In TV Production". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  2. Rense, Rip (November 29, 2017). "Ethel Winant: Hall of Fame Tribute". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  3. Newcomb, Horace, ed. (2013). "Ethel Winnant". Museum of Broadcast Communication Encyclopedia of Television. Vol. 4 (Second ed.). London and New York: Routledge. p. 2554. ISBN 978-1579584139.
  4. Saperstein, Pat (December 3, 2003). "Ethel Winant". Variety. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  5. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show 'The Making of the Mary Tyler Moore Show' FULL Documentary". YouTube. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  6. King, Susan (December 3, 2003). "Ethel Winant, 81; First Woman to Become Network Executive". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  7. Lentz III, Harris M. (2004). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003. McFarland. p. 430. ISBN 0786417560. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  8. "Ethel Winant". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  9. King, Susan (11 March 1999). "She Set the Course for Those Who Followed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
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