Biography
Boris David Kaplan was born in New York City on August 29, 1915. The son of a School Superintendent, Boris graduated from Cornell University in 1935 earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was a member of Phi Sigma Delta. His interest in the dramatic arts led him to a long and varied career in the motion picture and television industries. Throughout his career, Mr. Kaplan was always identified with projects of high intellectual content dealing with the human condition. One of his first notable achievements was as Film Supervisor for the pioneering television series, "Omnibus", created and funded by the Ford Foundation for the CBS Television Network from 1952 to 1956 (and later on both NBC and ABC). "Omnibus" is widely thought of as the precursor to the formation of the Public Broadcasting System because it was the first television program that was funded by a grant from a private foundation and delivered content that was both intellectual and entertaining. It won more than 65 awards, including seven Emmys.
After "Omnibus", Mr. Kaplan left New York in 1957 and relocated his family to Los Angeles where he was hired by Columbia Pictures to develop film projects. He produced only one film at Columbia, "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" in 1960. The film was based on a novel by William Motley. "Epitaph" was a sequel to another William Motley novel that was made into a motion picture, "Knock On Any Door". "Epitaph" starred Burl Ives and Shelly Winters and enlisted a supporting cast that included Ricardo Montalban, Jean Seburg, James Darren and a rare film appearance by Ella Fitzgerald. Kaplan noted that Miss Winters had an unusual way of getting into character for her part as a maternal figure cursed with a heroin addiction. "She carried a portable phonograph with her to the set each day and would listen to melancholy songs until she felt enough emotional depression to come out of her dressing room and play her part", Mr. Kaplan told a Loyola Marymount University class he was teaching in 1982. The phonograph was soon deemed unnecessary when Miss Winters learned that her husband, actor Anthony Franciosa, was having an extramarital affair. The couple divorced in 1960.
Returning to television in 1961, Kaplan joined CBS Programming as a Director of Development, West Coast. He worked directly for Mike Dann and later Perry Lafferty. Mr. Kaplan was eventually to become Vice President, Programming, West Coast and was involved with the development of such shows as "All In The Family" and "Mannix". The 1970s brought a major shake up of the CBS Television Network executive staff as Chairman William S. Paley sought to recapture the company's claim as "The Tiffany Network" with the appointment of a series of successors to his position. Several corporate Presidents were hired and fired along with many of the people they chose to fill positions at the network. The result was that Mr. Kaplan, along with Perry Lafferty were replaced. Mike Dann retired in 1970.
During the years that followed, Mr. Kaplan and his wife, Renee, endured the painful loss of their daughter to a long illness. Characteristically, he took his life in a new direction, moved with his wife to Malibu and began teaching a course in broadcasting history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in 1981. His classes were filled with insight and wisdom about the television and motion picture industries and his connection with his students brought a sense of completion to his often-mentioned "wide and checkered career". Boris David Kaplan died in Westlake Village on July 18, 1999.
