Introduction
Robert Saudek (April 11, 1911 – March 13, 1997) was an American TV producer and executive, son of flutist and conductor Victor Saudek (1879–1966).
Career
A director and later a vice-president at the ABC Television Network in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Saudek is best remembered for creating the arts and culture variety television show Omnibus at the behest of the Ford Foundation. Saudek sought to bring uplifting entertainment to American television audiences by bringing them the best actors, musicians, scientists, authors, comedians, and cultural figures. Saudek also produced other cultural television programming, including Profiles in Courage.
Over the course of his career, he was awarded eleven Emmys and seven Peabodys.
He served on the Carnegie Commission, which worked to establish both PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Saudek founded the Museum of Broadcasting (now known as the Paley Center for Media) and later headed the Library of Congress's motion picture division.