Jerry Golod, the producer of “Tales From the Darkside,” died following a brief battle with cancer at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Wednesday. He was 87.
Throughout his career, Golod served as an executive at CBS and NBC, later launching JayGee Productions in the early 1980s. After seeing the success of Stephen King’s 1982 film “Creepshow,” Golod collaborated with director Romero and producer Richard P. Rubinstein to bring the narrative to television. The three of them went on to launch “Tales From the Darkside,” which ran for four seasons and garnered a high cult following.
He also helped launch “Adderly” after reading Elliott Baker’s 1971 book, “Pocock and Pitt,” and becoming intrigued by the secondary character of the same name. The adventure series starred Winston Rekert and ran for two seasons on CBS.
In 1975, Golod became vice president of children’s programs at CBS before moving to NBC Entertainment in 1979 as vice president and national program director. While there, he oversaw daytime and children’s programming, specials, variety and West Coast late-night programming. He later joined CBS Television Studios and The CW in developing a new revival of “Tales From the Darkside,” though the series never moved past a 2015 pilot.
Golod executive produced CBS’s “Brass” in 1985 and “Return to Green Acres,” which reunited cast members of the 1960s sitcom. He also executive produced the 1991 revival of “Land of the Lost,” which ran for two seasons.
Golod was born in the Bronx on Dec. 26, 1938, and graduated from City College of New York. He began his career at advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample and went on to become vice president and associate director of programming. He also spent three years overseeing a television production company affiliated with the agency.
In the ‘90s, Golod worked with Pet Television Network as co-chairman and co-owner of a cable and satellite service aimed toward animal enthusiasts.
Golod is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ruth; their children, Dori and Jason; son-in-law Doug; daughter-in-law Danielle; grandchildren Gavin, Ramey, Morgan and Madison; great-grandsons Everett and Winslow; and nieces and nephews Jill, David, Elise, Renee, Celia, Ari and Ava.