Richard Brams was an American film and television producer.
He is best known for the iconic Miami Vice television series (1984-1989), Primetime Emmy nominee for Outstanding Drama Series, 1985; the six-hour NBC miniseries Drug Wars: The Camerana Story, winner Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries, 1990; and the four-hour NBC miniseries Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel, Primetime Emmy nominee for Outstanding Miniseries, 1992.
Brams began his prolific 23-year producing career in 1980 when he became associate producer on Thief, the first feature film for director Michael Mann. He was also associate producer on Mann's next feature film The Keep, and he then joined the producing team of Miami Vice as co-producer when it began in 1984. He later became co-executive producer/producer, based in Miami.
After Miami Vice ended, he was co-executive producer of both the Drug Wars miniseries, (NBC) which were executive produced by Michael Mann.
After the success of Miami Vice and the two Drug Wars miniseries, Brams continued producing television for another 11 years, 1992–2003, adding 20 credits to his filmography. He produced 18 television movies, pilots, and miniseries for network television (ABC, CBS, NBC) and cable television (Paramount and Universal), including In the Company of Darkness (Helen Hunt/Stephen Weber); Shadow of a Doubt (Brian Dennehy/Bonnie Bedelia); Swing Vote (Andy Garcia/Harry Belafonte/James Whitmore); Suddenly (Kirstie Alley/Jason Beghe); Night Sins (miniseries) (Valerie Bertinelli/Martin Donovan/Harry Hamlin/Mariska Hargitay); The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (Angela Lansbury); Mafia Doctor (Paul Sorvino/Olympia Dukakis).
During this time, Brams also produced twelve episodes of Paramount's remake of the iconic The Untouchables television series for syndication, as well as the independent film WiseGirls (Mariah Carey/Mira Sorvino; directed by David Anspaugh).
In the '60s and '70s, before beginning his career as a producer in Hollywood, Brams was an entrepreneur in Chicago, Illinois. He created a company that did graphic design, commercial photography, and production of television commercials and documentaries.
In the early '70s, he also published the highly regarded, but short-lived (12 issues) provocative and controversial counter-culture magazine Earth.
Brams died April 15, 2021, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 93.
