David Holman

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David Holman was a television producer and executive for over 40 years, both in New York and Los Angeles. While working for Jim Henson and the Muppets he helped launch the original The Muppet Show in 1975, and worked on that series, "Sesame Street", "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas" Special, and The Muppet Movie for 6 years.

Holman first met Jim Henson while he was working at ABC-TV in New York in 1973. ABC was producing a Muppet TV Special called "A Muppet Valentine Special" with actress Mia Farrow as the only human guest star. (Miss Piggy had not been "born" yet.) When ABC ordered a second TV special (for a possible Muppet TV series in primetime) Jim Henson hired Mr. Holman away from ABC to be his Associate Producer on the second Special - "The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence". After the two Specials aired it was surprising to Henson and Holman to learn that the network "passed" on hiring the Muppets to be in primetime. The two other networks at the time - NBC and CBS - also "passed". But, when all three networks learned a few months later that "The Muppet Show" became a huge hit in syndication, they were certainly disappointed that they had not been wiser.

Holman continued his career in Los Angeles where he won a TV Emmy Award for his work for ABC Sports on the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games, and later became the VP of Production for Columbia Pictures Television for 15 years. Holman worked on several thousand episodes of television series, including "The Young and the Restless", "Days of Our Lives", "Punky Brewster", "Designing Women", "What's Happening Now", "Who's the Boss?", "The Nanny", "Mad About You", "King of Queens", "Married With Children", "Jeopardy", and "Wheel of Fortune". After his retirement in 2000, Holman wrote an article about his experiences with Jim Henson and The Muppets. That article was published in the December, 2004 issue of Palm Springs Life magazine.

During his early retirement in 2000 Holman met author Joyce Spizer and together they co-wrote (with another first-time writer) a screenplay. Holman and Spizer (now Joyce Foy) have written a second screenplay and formed Hollywood East Productions, Inc., in 2005 to write and produce independent films. They are currently in pre-production with one of their scripts to be produced sometime in 2009.

Holman also was named an Outstanding Young Man of America in 1970 by the U.S. Jacees, and given an Award of Merit by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, for directing "Paths of Progress" TV series at KTBC-TV, Austin, Texas, in 1963. He served in the U.S. Army in Munich, Germany, from 1960-'62, and Honorably Discharged in 1962. He studied Broadcasting at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas.

Holman remains an active member of the Producers Guild of America, the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences, a founding member of the Palm Springs Chapter of Women In Film, a Guest Lecturer for colleges & universities in the U.S., and is a Life Member of the University of Texas Ex-Students' Association. Holman is listed in Who's Who in Entertainment 1990-Present and in Who's Who in California 1983-2006.