Ted Hartley

Ted Hartley was born and raised an Iowa farm boy. He attended Shattuck Military School in Minnesota, and at age 16, was appointed to the Naval Academy, hoping to pursue his love of aviation. As a commissioned officer, Hartley had tours as a congressional liaison for the Pentagon, as a Presidential aide, and as a carrier-based pilot. But in May 1964, Ted Hartley’s promising Navy career ended when his F9F8 fighter jet crashed from a carrier landing accident. Thrown from the plane, Hartley suffered a broken back and was medically retired from the Navy. He attended Harvard Business School and pursued a career in investment banking. He worked his way up to vice president in First Western Financial Corporation, but was fired over his strong objection to a program his boss was promoting. Hartley bounced back, seeing this “transition” as an opportunity to pursue another of his boyhood dreams, acting. He appeared on the successful television show, Peyton Place, playing the character of the Reverend Jerry Bedford. He also had roles in several movies before landing his own TV series in the late 1970s called Chopper One. He left Hollywood for Aspen, Colorado, where he became the managing artistic director of a local theatre. He was involved with all aspects of operations and enjoyed a successful winter season. But when the snow leaves, so do the crowds, so Hartley returned to investment banking. Hartley was a partner in Pavilion Communications Inc. – a company that bought out or re-financed smaller entertainment companies. When RKO came to his attention in 1990, Hartley looked for a way to re-build the company. A former giant in the industry, RKO had been in decline since Howard Hughes took over in 1948, slowing production and gradually changing the emphasis from film to television and radio programming. By 1991, he had merged Pavilion with RKO Pictures Corporation, recapitalized and restructured the company, which has led to the current re-emergence of RKO Pictures, LLC as an important independent studio. As chairman and chief executive office of RKO Pictures, Hartley has led RKO’s worldwide development and production activities in movies and television as well as the expansion of the RKO brand to the stage and other entertainment and distribution venues. Hartley and his wife, Dina Merrill, are the founders of The Story Project and the Hartley-Merrill International Screenwriting Award. Ted Hartley is the father of one son and lives in Southern California.