Douglas Duitsman

Douglas Duitsman held senior positions with Columbia Pictures Television and Warner Brothers Television, and served as president of the Television Academy from 1987-1989.

At age 17, he joined the merchant marines. He saved his earnings to attend Pepperdine University, where he studied journalism before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.

He spent four years stationed in Hawaii, where he was assigned to the Public Relations Office at Pearl Harbor.

In the early 1950s, Hawaii did not receive live radio broadcasts from the mainland, so in an effort to entertain his colleagues, Duitsman was able to go on Hawaiian radio and recreate Major League Baseball games, which were being received over teletype. This led to work as a sportscaster with his own nightly show on Hawaiian television.

After returning to Southern California, Duitsman found work as a writer for Disney's original Mickey Mouse Club. He went on to join NBC as a publicist and eventually became director of the publicity department.

He later became head of publicity at Screen Gems. When Screen Gems became the television division of Columbia Pictures, he served as a vice-president. He later moved to Warner Bros. as vice-president of publicity and promotion.

In addition to his professional achievements, Duitsman had a distinguished affiliation with the Television Academy. He was a governor of the Academy's public relations peer group, and in 1987 was elected president for a two-year term. He was also the founding chairman of the Television Publicity Executives Committee.

He retired in 1992, after 37 years in the entertainment industry. In retirement, Duitsman was an active member of North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, and became president of the club in 1992.

Duitsman died September 17, 2009, in Thousand Oaks, California. He was 81.