27 February 2024 , 07:20
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Beverly Hills 90210 and Dynasty producer, E. Duke Vincent, has sadly died at the age of 91.
The television producer's death was confirmed by his wife Pamela Hensley Vincent, whom he was married to for more than 40 years. His death came to light in an obituary she wrote in the Santa Barbara Independent.
"With profound sorrow I inform you of the passing of my beloved and brilliant husband, E. Duke Vincent, a legendary Blue Angel, an Emmy award-winning television producer and writer, and an accomplished novelist," the obituary began.
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E. Duke Vincent and Aaron Spelling were producing partners for many yearsPamela, the producer's wife, continued to touch on Edward's early life and how he was the only child of Margaret and Egizio Ventimiglia, with him born on April 30th, 1932, in Jersey City, New Jersey.
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"He went to Bloomfield High and graduated from Seton Hall University. Then, having aviation in his DNA—his father had been one of the Lafayette Escadrille in World War 1—he joined the Navy and became a Naval aviator. He dreamed of being a Blue Angel," the obituary revealed.
Edward's wife then touched on how her husband went on to join VF-173 in Jacksonville, with him flying the FJ-3 until the squadron was decommissioned. "He was then assigned to Va-44 as an instrument instructor flying the F9F-8 and A4D-1. In 1960 he joined the Blue Angels for the 60-61 seasons," the obituary added.
It was then revealed that his interest in television was piqued when he flew the F8F-8P while filming the aerial photo sequences for the NBC Television Series The Blue Angels. "It was that experience which sparked his interest in television," she said in the moving tribute.
The obituary then spoke of how the iconic producer resigned from the Navy in 1962 before going to New York, which is where he applied for a job with RKO General and Seven Arts to write and produce seven one-hour documentaries called Man In Space.
Pamela went on: "While in Los Angeles, filming sequences for the series, Duke met with Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard, the executive producers of The Dick Van Dyke show. After writing a 'spec' script for them, he signed on to do their next TV series, Good Morning World."
Edward is also known for having written for The Doris Day Show, The Jim Nabors Hour, The New Temperatures Rising Show and TV movies Salt and Pepe and Panache. He then met Aaron Spelling in 1977 and they became partners in producing just a year later in 1978.
"It was a match made in heaven and remained so until 2006—over 29 years until Spelling’s death," the obituary read, noting how the duo's extensive list of television credits grew to include 43 series, including Dynasty, The Colby’s, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, and 7 Mini-series—including Jackie Collins’ Hollywood Wives and James Micheners’ Texas, as well as a whopping 39 movies for television.
The famed producer also worked on Charmed and 7th Heaven, with him having had a 40-year-long career in Hollywood where he wrote or produced over 2300 hours of film and tape, including 1600 hours of prime-time and over 750 hours of daytime television.
Following his retirement, the beloved producer penned four books - Mafia Summer, Black Widow, The Strip, and The Camelot Conspiracy.