Jamie Tarses
She served as president of ABC Entertainment from 1996-99 after helping develop hits like Friends, Mad About You and Frasier at NBC.
Jamie Tarses, the producer and groundbreaking TV executive who as president of ABC Entertainment from 1996-99 became the first woman to serve as head a network entertainment division, died Monday. She was 56.
Tarses died in Los Angeles of complications from a cardiac event suffered last fall, according to her family.
Survivors include her father, Jay Tarses, an Emmy winner who created such innovative TV shows as
Buffalo Bill and
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and her brother, Matt Tarses, who has produced series including
After leaving ABC, Tarses worked on several other series over the years, including
Happy Endings and most recently Amazon s
The Wilds. A Disney+ series,
The Mysterious Benedict Society, which Tarses worked on as an executive producer is expected to premiere later this year.
Tarses is survived by her partner Paddy Aubrey and their two children, Wyatt and Sloane, as well as her parents, Rachel and Jay, siblings Mallory and Matt, sister-in-law Katie Tarses, three nieces, and a nephew, per
Tarses brother, Matt Tarses, reflected on his sister s life in a statement released on Monday to The Wrap. For all her talent and success in entertainment, the thing Jamie was proudest of and most consumed by were her two kids, he said. She was never happier than when she was with Wyatt and Sloane.