Kim LeMasters
Creative Director
Mr. LeMasters started in the television business in 1972 with ABC Television where he was Supervisor of Primetime Development. In a three-person department he oversaw the development of such series as Happy Days, Kung Fu and the Six Million Dollar Man. From ABC he went to Warner Bros. TV developing Wonder Woman and Harry O for ABC. He left Warner Bros. in 1976 and began a long tenure with CBS Television. Mr. LeMasters began his career with CBS as Director of Drama Development working for Richard Berger, the Vice President. During the next seven years Mr. LeMasters experienced a star rise with CBS culminating as EVP of Development and Current Programming. During his tenure CBS benefited from a long string of primetime hits, e.g. Dallas, Knots Landing, Trapper John, Dukes of Hazzard, The Incredible Hulk, Newhart, and Simon and Simon.
Mr. LeMasters left CBS in 1983 to join Mr. Berger at the Walt Disney Studios as EVP of Worldwide Motion Pictures. Within a year Disney began a turnaround by releasing such hit films as Splash, The Secret of My Success, and the Journey of Natty Gann. But in 1985 Mr. LeMas-
ters was asked to return to his faltering alma mater, CBS. As VP of Mini-Series, Mr. LeMasters developed huge rating hits like Sins and put what was to be a legendary mini-series, Lonesome Dove, into development. Less than a year into his return Mr. LeMasters was named Vice
President of Programming for the CBS Entertainment Division.
In that year, 1986, Mr. LeMasters began the long task of retiring aging television series and rearing new ones. His first season as the head of programming yielded Wiseguy, Tour of Duty, Murphy Brown, Beauty and the Beast and Rescue 911. In 1987, Mr. LeMasters was named as President, CBS Entertainment Division. He held this position until 1990 when he left to form his own production company, LeMasters Productions.
Working as a writer and producer Mr. LeMasters created a series of pilots and MOWs before collapsing his company and going to work for Stephen J. Cannell, as President of Stephen J. Cannell Productions. There he not only increased the television output from 83 hours yearly to over 145 but also continued creating and writing with series such as Hawkeye and Profit. He finished his career with Cannell by executive producing, writing and directing the USA cable hit, Silk Stalkings, for three seasons.
Mr. LeMasters became Chairman and CEO of ReplayTV in September 1999 before resigning after selling the company to Sonic Blue. Since then Mr. LeMasters has reformed LeMasters Productions and resumed writing and directing most recently having written one of the premier-
ing episodes of Nightmares and Dreamscapes for TNT which aired in July of 2006.
Mr. LeMasters and his wife, Donna, have three children (Bree, Jill, Earle IV) and live in Los Angeles, California.