Tom Thayer

Thayer was the last President of Universal Television for 6 years, through the Seagram acquisition in '97. Prior to that, he was appointed the founding President of MCA Television Entertainment, which was MCA / Universal's premiere venture into cable programming that resulted in "Dream On" for HBO and some 40 pictures for cable television. Since the sale of MCA, Thayer has run his own production company, Traveler's Rest Films. Thayer's productions include "The Great Gatsby" with Mira Sorvino, Toby Stephens and Paul Rudd, The John McCain biography, "Faith of My Fathers", and the HBO adaptation of Dee Brown's classic, "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee". "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" was the most Emmy nominated picture in the history of HBO, and was tied for the most Emmy nominated picture in the history of television. It won six Emmy Awards, including Best Picture for 2007, the Critics Choice Award, the PGA and DGA Awards, and the Humanitas. The following year Thayer produced a four-hour adaptation of Michael Crichton's best-seller, "The Andromeda Strain", with Co-Producer Ridley Scott. "The Andromeda Strain" aired on A&E in May, 2008, was the second highest rated telecast in the network's history and was nominated for seven Emmy Awards. In May, 2012, Thayer produced a theatrical biography of Alfred Hitchcock for Fox Searchlight. "Hitchcock" stars Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johansson and is directed by Sacha Gervasi. Thayer's television series, Ghosthunters, which is produced with Craig Piligian and Pilgrim Films, is going into its ninth season on the SciFi Network. In January, 2012, Thayer and Dick Wolf started a venture to develop non-scripted television programming. They are currently prepping five series.