Quinn Martin

 Quinn Martin (May 22, 1922 – September 5, 1987)

He had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years (from 1959 to 1980). Martin is a member of the Television Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1997. His father, Martin Goodman Cohn, was a film editor and producer at MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) studios. Martin started his career in television as a film editor also at MGM, joining his father and also worked as manager of post-production for various organizations, including Universal Studios (1950–1954), but by the mid 1950s had become an executive producer for Desilu Studios, founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz of the famous TV series I Love Lucy. In 1960, Martin established his own production company, QM Productions which produced several high ratings television shows in the 1960s. This included The Fugitive, Twelve O'Clock High, The F.B.I., The Invaders, The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, and Barnaby Jones. Shows produced by the company were usually introduced with the distinctive voices of announcer Dick Wesson or Hank Simms reading the title of the series and then saying, "A Quinn Martin Production. He sold QM in 1978 and worked as an adjunct professor at the University of California at San Diego's Earl Warren College, where he also endowed a professorial chair in drama. He was also involved with business activities, still developing motion pictures for Warner Bros. with a new company named, QM Communications. Quinn Martin died of heart failure on September 5, 1987, in his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California.