Werner to speak at Emerson about TV career

Creator of hit television shows like The Cosby Show, Roseanne, and That 70s Show, and Chairman of the Boston Red Sox Tom Werner will visit Emerson on September 10 to speak to the Emerson community about his career in television.

Visual and Media Arts Chair Jonathan Wacks will moderate the discussion with Werner, which will take place in the Bright Family Screening Room at 7pm. All students, faculty and staff are invited to the event, but seating is limited. Seats will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

In addition to being Chairman of the Boston Red Sox, Tom Werner is one of the most successful TV producers in the world.

Werner and his partner, Marcy Carsey, also helped create such hits as A Different World, Third Rock from the Sun, Cybill, and Grace Under Fire. The duo’s company Caresy Werner is credited with nearly 2,000 hours of quality half hour comedy television. Earlier, while working for ABC television, Werner and Casey helped launch the careers of Robin Williams in Mork and Mindy, Tom Hanks, in Bosom Buddies, Billy Crystal, in Soap, and both Tony Danza and Danny Devito in Taxi.

In 2000 Werner and Carsey and Caryn Mandabach joined forces with Geraldine Laybourne and Oprah Winfrey to start Oxygen, a 24-hour cable channel serving the modern women. Acquired by NBC in late 2007, the channel is one of the fastest growing cable networks ever.

Werner took over the Boston Red Sox organization in 2002, along with Principal Owner John Henry, and President/CEO Larry Lucchino. In the 10 seasons that Wener has been with the club, the Red Sox have won two World Series, the first in 2004 ending an 86-year championship drought, and advanced to the post season three straight seasons and six times in seven years for the first time in the team’s history.