David L. Wolper was an American television and film producer, responsible for such series/miniseries as Roots, Welcome Back, Kotter, Chico and the Man, The Thorn Birds, North & South, and movies such as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and L.A. Confidential.

He also produced numerous documentaries and documentary series including Biography, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Appointment with Destiny, This is Elvis, Four Days in November, Imagine: John Lennon, Visions of Eight, and others.

Wolper directed the 1959 documentary The Race for Space, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

His 1971 film (as executive producer) about the study of insects, The Hellstrom Chronicle, won an Academy Award.

For his work on television, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

David L. Wolper was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1988.