Charles W. (Chuck) Fries serves as CEO and Executive Producer of Chuck Fries Productions. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Fries attended Elder High School and graduated from Ohio State University, where he also received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1986.

Fries was named one of fifty outstanding Cincinnatians on the 200th anniversary of the City along with luminaries such as Ted Turner and Roy Rogers. And also one of the top 50 students of Elder High School where he gave the commencement address on the 50th anniversary of the school. Fries was awarded the Frederic W. Ziv Award, established by the pioneering syndicator, for his outstanding accomplishments in television by the University of Cincinnati Electronic Media Division of the University’s Conservatory in 2003.

He joined Ziv Television reporting to California Studios (now Raleigh Studios) for production of syndicated shows such as, The Cisco Kid, Highway Patrol, and Sea Hunt among others. He was appointed vice-president in charge of production for Screen Gems, the Columbia Pictures Television arm and was involved in the production of series such as Naked City, Route 66, Bewitched, Hazel, Father Knows Best and many other standout comedies of the 60’s. He subsequently became Vice President in charge of feature film production/administration for Columbia Pictures, the parent company, where he worked with top producers and directors in the industry on films such as Castle Keep with Burt Lancaster, The Horseman with Jack Palance, Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson and Getting Straight with Elliott Gould and Candice Bergen.

As executive vice president in charge of production for Metromedia Producers Corporation, Fries assumed the production reins and produced and/or supervised some thirty movies for television, nine television series, (including the acclaimed Jacques Cousteau Specials) and five theatrical films.

Fries is considered the "godfather" of the television movie, having produced and/or supervised over 225 hours of television movies and mini-series. His films have garnered the Emmy, Peabody, Humanitas and Christopher Awards among others from selected film festivals. Known for producing many issue-oriented movies for television, Fries programs include: Small Sacrifices starring Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal, The Neon Empire, a three-hour epic saga starring Ray Sharkey, Martin Landau and Gary Busey; Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean, starring Suzanne Pleshette and Lloyd Bridges; The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury starring Rock Hudson; Woman on the Ledge with Deidre Hall; Bitter Harvest starring Ron Howard and Art Carney; The Word starring David Jansen and based on the book by Irving Wallace, and the Emmy nominated LBJ starring Randy Quaid and Patty Lupone. He also produced the only live-action Spiderman television series and the acclaimed Demond Wilson series Baby, I’m back.

Some of the theatrical motion pictures produced under the Fries banner include Paul Schraeder’s The Cat People, a Universal release starring Natassja Kinski, and Malcolm McDowell; Out of Bounds, a Fries production starring Anthony Michael Hall, released by Columbia Pictures; Thrashin’ distributed by New Line Cinema Corporation; Flowers in the Attic, a co-production with New World; and Troop Beverly Hills, starring Shelly Long and Craig T. Nelson for Weintraub Entertainment. His most recent production, Screamers is a Sci-Fi/Action film based on a Phillip Dick short story starring Peter Weller for Sony/Triumph.

Fries has been, and continues to be, integrally involved in the entertainment industry at large. At the American Film Institute he has served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Executive Committee, and is now on the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors. He established the Charles W. Fries Producer of the Year Award at the Institute to encourage quality television programming. Recipients of the award include Dan Curtis, Edgar J. Scherick, Roger Gimbel, Suzanne de Passe, David Gerber, Stan Margulies, Dorothea Petrie, and Dick Berg, among others. He also chaired the AFI Writers Workshop for fourteen years from which a number of participants have emerged as stellar writers. The Ava and Charles Fries Foundation established the Charles W. Fries Telefeature Library at the Institute. The library is intended to be a collection of groundbreaking, historically significant material and includes scripts, production records and video copies of each film.

Fries has been the Chairman, having served for five terms, of the Steering Committee of the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers and Directors an organization of 150 distinguished creators. At the Caucus he conceived the Annual Awards Dinner, the proceeds from which support the organization and provide grant funds for the Caucus Foundation and has been Chair and / or Co-Chair of the event since its inception twenty years ago. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chair’s Award for his long time service to the organization. He was recently instrumental in founding the Caucus Foundation, where he serves as President, which bestows Film Completion Grants on student filmmakers to create diversity behind the camera.

Fries is currently a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, where he has served on the Board of Governors and now serves as Treasurer of the Foundation; and at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he serves on the Executive Branch Membership Committee. He was awarded a Lifetime Membership in the Producer’s Guild of America, where he launched the Guild’s Black Tie Awards event in 1998 creating a financial base from which he was instrumental in formulating the Guild’s Strategic Plan of Reorganization.

He is also active at the Center Theatre Group (The Ahmanson and Mark Taper Forum Theatres), where he served on the Board and the Executive Committee, and as Vice President. He is Co-Chair with his wife Ava of the Executive Committee of the CTG Entertainment Circle and through an association with a constituent group, Center Theatre Group Affiliates has co-chaired a number of events including; the Michael Feinstein Salon and Angel’s Night.

Fries and his wife Ava have been awarded special honors by ICAN The Interagency for Child Abuse and Neglect; PATH People Assisting The Homeless; The Maple Center, a Beverly Hills family counseling service; and Cedars Sinai Medical Center, among others. Together they have raised $5.0 million for worthy causes in the Los Angeles area with a particular emphasis on the arts and children.

His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is directly opposite Graumann’s Chinese Theater.