RESOLUTION
PUBLIC SESSION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Thursday, June 6, 2024
unanimously
RESOLVED,
That the Board of Directors
of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Expresses its Heartfelt Condolences
to the Family and Friends of
JAC VENZA
Founder, New York Playhouse
Founding Executive Producer, Great Performances
Director of Cultural and Arts Programs, WNET/New York
CPB Ralph Lowell Award Recipient, 1997
We will long remember with gratitude Jac Venza, for making entertainment and culture part of public media’s mission and described in the New York Times as “probably the person most responsible for the performing arts being on American television.”
Mr. Venza was part of a core group of television producers who helped create National Educational Television, the precursor to PBS.
At NET, then WNET, Mr. Venza brought artistic and cultural programs to public television, including “NET Playhouse,” “Theater in America,” “Live From Lincoln Center,” “New York Playhouse” and “Great Performances.” He also imported popular BBC productions like “Brideshead Revisited.” Talented performers such as Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Steep made their first significant television performances in Mr. Venza’s productions.
Mr. Venza won 10 Primetime Emmys, and the programs he produced for WNET received a total of 57 Emmy nominations. Mr. Venza’s many awards include an International Emmy and a Governor’s Award, both for lifetime achievement, and the CPB Ralph Lowell Award.
The CPB Board of Directors marks Jac Venza’s leadership, vision, and extraordinary service to public media and the American public with deep respect and appreciation and offers our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.