Woody Fraser, best known for creating and producing “The Mike Douglas Show” and “Good Morning America,” has died. He was 90.
He died Saturday afternoon, his daughter, Stacy, confirmed to Variety.
Fraser was known for pioneering the co-host format with the creation of “The Mike Douglas Show,” one of the longest-running popular talk shows in the history of TV, as Deadline noted. He won a Daytime Emmy in 1982 for his work on “The Richard Simmons Show” and was nominated for several others, including for “The Dick Cavett Show.”
Tributes began dropping as news spread.
“My mentor and a true producing genius Woody Fraser passed,” wrote his friend, fellow producer and longtime collaborator E.V. Di Massa Jr. on Facebook alongside a photo of the two of them. “So many memories. Here we are accepting the Mike Douglas Lifetime Award at the Emmys. May God hold him until we have our next production meeting in heaven.”
“Saddened to hear of the passing of Woody Fraser,” wrote director Jonathan X on X. “Worked with him on ‘The Home Show,’ ‘Home & Family’ and a variety of pilots. I learned so much from him in the talk/variety genre. The ‘Mike Douglas Show’ was must see TV with my grandmother as a child.”
Born Nov. 16, 1934, in Cincinnati, Fraser began working in television in 1960 as a director for NBC. It was there he met Douglas and began making television history. At one point during his 50-year career, he was overseeing 32.5 hours of TV programming every week.
In addition to Cavett and Douglas, those programs included “The Della Reese Show” and “The Bill Russell Show.” He also had a hand in “The Home Show” and “Home & Family.”
Most recently, Fraser helped launch CNBC’s “McEnroe” and Fox News’ “Huckabee,” a talk show featuring former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee discussing issues of the day with his studio audience. The latter recalled working with Fraser at Fox News, calling him “my mentor” and “a legend.”
Fraser leaves a bit of a mixed legacy, having been accused of sexual harassment and wrongful termination at “Home & Family.” He was eventually removed.
He was also entangled in the Fox News sexual harassment allegations that surfaced in 2016.
Fraser was a prominent supporter of Stand Up to Cancer, co-founded by his late wife, Noreen Fraser, after her diagnosis of Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Starting in 2008, it raised a reported $300 million for research before her death in 2017 at age 63.
Fraser is survived by his eight children and three grandchildren, Variety reported.
