Caucus Chair
Charles W. (Chuck) Fries serves
as CEO and Executive Producer of Chuck Fries Productions. A native of
Cincinnati, Ohio, Fries graduated from Ohio State University, where he also
received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. He joined Ziv Television
reporting to California Studios (now Raleigh Studios) for production of pioneer
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, The Horseman, Five Easy Pieces and Getting
Straight
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.
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.
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 has 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, and is the newly
elected Chair 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 and has been Chair and / or
Co-Chair of the event since its inception nineteen 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, which bestows Film Completion
Grants to disadvantaged filmmakers.
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 Secretary of the
Foundation; 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 and formulated 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.
His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is directly opposite Mann's Chinese
Theater.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: CHUCK FRIES