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Andy Friendly, the first producer of the long-running syndicated Entertainment Tonight and the son of the legendary CBS newsman Fred Friendly, died Sunday at his home in Bel-Air. He was 74.
His death was announced by family. His wife, actress Patricia Crowley (Please Don’t Eat The Daisies) died in September at age 91. His brother, David T. Friendly, is a Hollywood producer (Little Miss Sunshine).
His death was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter. A cause of death was not disclosed.
In addition to his tenure at Entertainment Tonight, Andy Friendly was a programming executive for CNBC and King World, serving at the former as vp primetime programs from 1990-95. At CNBC he worked on talk shows hosted by Tom Snyder and Tim Russert, among others.
Born on Nov. 6, 1951, Friendly launched his TV career in the early 1970s as a junior researcher at WNBC-TV in New York. Also at the station was anchorman Snyder – Friendly would soon produce Snyder’s late-night Tomorrow Show for NBC.
As the first producer of the syndicated Entertainment Tonight, Friendly was Emmy-nominated in 1982. From 1995 to 2001, he was president of programming and production at King World Productions.
Friendly also served as president of the Hollywood Radio & Television Society and an adjunct professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and he served on the boards of the USC Shoah Foundation and the Saban Community Clinic.
He published his memoir, Willing to Be Lucky: Adventures in Life and Television, in 2017.
In addition to brother David, Friendly is survived by siblings, Lisa, Richard, Michael and Jon.
English (US) ·