Jack Douglas

Television travel show pioneer Jack Douglas was born Jonathan Aivez in Iran in 1921 and was of Assyrian ancestry. Almost all TV travel shows ultimately followed the format Douglas created in the 1950's. He was a champion of color television and was insistent on filming in color, even back in 1954 when even color shows were broadcast in black & white. His Keyhole television series broke ground as what he called a "documatic" - a dramatized documentary, that covered diverse subjects like aspiring actors, female judo experts, skydivers in action, a handler of poisonous snakes and a tour of the French Riviera. America! was another Douglas-produced series that lasted for one season in syndication, 1964-65, and was produced and distributed by CBS. Douglas also allegedly retained ownership of his film library, although it is unknown why these master films are unavailable for viewing, with only very poor-quality copies available at various internet sites. Douglas passed away in 1994.