CBS executive behind '60 Minutes,' 'Beverly Hillbillies' dies at South Florida home

Wife says Michael Dann died Friday at age of 94

BOCA RATON, Fla. ā€“ Michael Dann, the man behind the programming of suchĀ 1960s and 1970s CBS shows as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "60 Minutes" and "The Beverly Hillbillies," has died at his South Florida home. He was 94.

His wife, Audrey Dann, confirmed his death Tuesday. Dann began his career at NBC, where he was part of the creation of the "Today" and "Tonight" shows.

Dann climbed to the head of programming at CBS in 1963 and promoted the movie "Born Free," which earned the third-highest ratings for a film shown on television at the time. Other shows on CBS during his tenure included "Hawaii Five-O" and "The Carol Burnett Show."

Dann said in a 1998 interview with the Archive of American Television that the biggest crisis he ever endured at CBS was the cancelation of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour."

His funeral will be held Wednesday in Boca Raton. His wife said he died Friday.


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Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.