TV and film producer Merv Adelson dies at 85

Merv Adelson, a producer whose company made 'The Waltons' and 'Dallas' and a former husband to TV journalist Barbara Walters, has died. He was 85.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Merv Adelson, a film and television producer whose company Lorimar made "The Waltons" and "Dallas" and a former husband to television journalist Barbara Walters, has died. He was 85.

Adelson died Tuesday of a stroke in a Los Angeles medical facility, said Ryan Rayston, a family friend and Adelson's executive assistant.

A former developer in Las Vegas, Adelson and partner Irwin Molasky formed Lorimar in 1969 and it grew into one of Hollywood's top independent production houses at the dawn of the 1980s. The company also made "Eight is Enough," ''Knots Landing" and "Love Connection."

Lorimar also made the movies "Being There" and "An Officer and a Gentleman," but its lack of success in feature films eventually led to its downfall. Current CBS Corp. boss Leslie Moonves was Lorimar's top executive during the early 1990s.

Adelson and Walters were married from 1986 to 1992.

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