Jim Green, Architect of ABC’s Golden Age of TV Movies and Producer of ‘Stephen King’s It,’ Dies at 83

Television pioneer Jim Green, the programming executive who helped turn ABC's Movie of the Week into a cultural institution and later produced landmark miniseries including the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's "It," passed away on August 9 in Santa Barbara at age 83 following a long illness. His wife of 59 years, singer Cathy Cole Green of The King Family, announced the news. Read also: Only Murders in the Building Season 6 Heads to London with December Premiere Date. Read also: USA Network Orders Rome-Set Medical Drama 'Diplomatic Immunity' as Part of Scripted Revival.

Green's career reads like a blueprint for modern event television. Joining ABC in 1966 under development chief Barry Diller, he helped shepherd nearly 200 made-for-TV movies that transformed the struggling network's primetime fortunes. The slate included Steven Spielberg's feature directorial debut "Duel" (1971), the Emmy-winning "Brian's Song" (1971), and the groundbreaking eight-part adaptation of Alex Haley's "Roots" (1977). Several of these films spun off into hit series — among them "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Starsky & Hutch," "The Night Stalker," and "The Love Boat."

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After leaving the network in 1977, Green formed Green/Epstein Productions with former ABC executive Allen Epstein, producing more than 50 television movies and miniseries often centered on human-interest stories. Their credits ranged from "Women at West Point" (1979), dramatizing the first female cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, to "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (1979), a rare male-perspective divorce drama starring Robert Conrad, Billy Crystal, and Ted Bessell. The company also produced "Fallen Angel" and "And the Sea Will Tell," both cited as landmark telefilms of their era.

Green's path to Hollywood was unconventional. After graduating from Cal State Northridge, he considered law school while dating Cathy Cole, whose family performed on ABC's "The King Family Show." When the group planned a national tour, Green suggested to matriarch Yvonne King that he serve as tour manager — a role that launched his entertainment career. A stint as a Universal publicist preceded his three-decade run shaping television.

Industry veterans credit Green with helping define the "movie of the week" format as appointment viewing, a model that anticipated today's limited-series boom. His work bridged the gap between network-era mass audiences and the more niche, prestige-driven storytelling that followed. As streaming platforms revive the event-miniseries model, Green's template — high-concept premises, literary adaptations, and true-life dramas — remains visibly influential.