Charles E. Sellier Jr.

Charles E. Sellier Jr. founder and president of Grizzly Adams Productions, Inc., was an acclaimed producer, writer and director in the independent film industry. Sellier skillfully pioneered market testing and "four-walling"--renting a theater to show his films, thereby enabling him to keep all the profits for himself--garnered him the distinction of having more pictures in the Top 50 independent grossers than any other independent producer in the 1970s. Sellier's techniques enabled him to achieve a commanding 52% success rate in the domestic theatrical market, during a time when the major studios only averaged one in seven. Joel Kotkin wrote in the Washington Post, "Today, Charles Sellier is the first of a series of new family filmmakers that is hitting Hollywood right where it hurts--the box office". The Wall Street Journal claimed Sellier "cleans up by marketing films like selling soap--the Utah moviemaker pre-tests his product and hasn't failed yet." When Variety listed its "Champs Among Bantamweights" in July of 1981, Sellier's name appeared on the list more than that of any producer. Included in its top 50 films were nine Sellier productions: In Search of Noah's Ark (1976), Beyond and Back (1978), The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (1974), Chariots of the Gods (1970), The Mysterious Monsters (1975), In Search of Historic Jesus (1979), The Bermuda Triangle (1978), Hangar 18 (1980) and The Adventures of Frontier Fremont (1975). A tenth Sellier success soon appeared on that list: The Boogens (1981). After a lengthy meeting between Orson Welles and Sellier, Mr. Welles commented, "Young man, you are light-years ahead of the rest of the industry." Not content simply with unprecedented success in theatrical features, Sellier began using similar audience preference studies in the area of television programming. In 1976 he created the The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (1977) television concept, and in January 1977 the series began airing on the NBC. "Grizzly Adams" became an instant success, beating out the highly popular The Bionic Woman (1976) in six short weeks. As a result, "Grizzly Adams" entertained television audiences throughout the rest of the 1970s, and earned Sellier the reputation of being a major contributor to prime time television. Paul Klein, NBC's volatile programming chief at that time, lauded Sellier as a "brilliant and amazing innovator." In 1980 Sellier was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the television film The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1980). In 1986 Universal Studios put Sellier under contract as supervising producer for a series of movies-of-the-week that garnered high ratings, including the hugely popular six two-hour "Desperado" specials, which received a National Cowboy Hall of Fame award in 1989. In the early 1990s Sellier went on to create and produce two specials for CBS--Ancient Secrets of the Bible (1992) and the pilot "Miracles and Other Wonders". Both performed well in the ratings and the network responded with a multimillion-dollar contract for an additional 10 hours of primetime shows. Starting in 2001, Sellier began writing and producing investigative documentaries for television and DVD for both the secular and Christian markets. In 2008 he wrote and produced what was to be his final film, the wilderness feature _Friends for Life (2006)_ (qv(, which has received over 30 independent film awards. Along with his extensive film record, Charles E. Sellier Jr. authored many best-selling books including "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams", "Hangar 18", "In Search of Noah's Ark" (four weeks on the New York Post list), "The Lincoln Conspiracy" (22 weeks on the New York Times list), "The Conspiracy to Kill the President" and "Miracles and Other Wonders", to name just a few. Charles E. Sellier was passionate about his profession as a filmmaker, served as an innovative industry leader and was a mentor and role model for those who had the pleasure of working with him over a career that spanned more than four decades. Mr. Sellier died on January 31, 2011 - survived by his wife, Julie Magnuson and his son, William Sellier. Chuck is missed by many, but his legacy lives on through the characters he brought to life, the careers he launched, and the stories he penned.