How O.J. Simpson, a Busted Pilot and His Huge Network Supporter Loomed Over NBC Just as It Found ‘Must-See TV’ Success

Michael Schneider
·4 min read
2
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

It’s a bit of an irony that just as NBC’s “Must-See TV” juggernaut took off in 1994, execs there found themselves right in the middle of a completely different kind of televised spectacle: The O.J. Simpson arrest, trial and eventual acquittal.

Not only was then-NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer one of Simpson’s best friends, but just a month before the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman — followed by Simpson’s white Ford Bronco flight from justice and arrest — NBC had passed on a pilot starring the ex-football-star.

More from Variety

“It was just a strange time to be there because of Don’s loyalty to O.J.,” recalled Preston Beckman, who was NBC’s head of scheduling at the time, and one of Ohlmeyer’s and NBC Entertainment president Warren Littlefield’s key lieutenants. Ohlmeyer would occasionally bring up Simpson during the network’s afternoon meetings in their Burbank offices, and would daily visit his friend in jail.

“He was an extremely loyal person, and it took a toll on him, it really did,” Beckman said of Ohlmeyer (who died in 2017).

As then-Variety TV critic Brian Lowry — who once screened the pilot, in secret — wrote in 2014, “Simpson played the leader of a crack team of ex-Navy SEALs. The group worked out of a surf shop in Malibu, and the tone seemed designed to tap into a vibe similar to ‘The A-Team.’ In a moment that fleetingly drew attention during the trial because of its parallels to the murders, there was one sequence in which Simpson’s character, John “Bullfrog” Burke, surprises an intruder and holds a knife to her throat. It turns out it’s Bullfrog’s grown daughter. (The prosecution opted not to use the video.)” Evan Handler, Louis Mandylor and Todd Allen also starred in “Frogmen,” which was produced by Warner Bros. TV.

As soon as Simpson was arrested for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Goldman, Beckman went through the NBC offices and collected everyone’s copy of “Frogmen.” If the pilot were to end up in the hands of the press, he didn’t want it to come from anyone inside the network — which would have caused a meltdown from Ohlmeyer. It never leaked.

Even prior to the murders, it was unlikely that as a busted pilot “Frogmen” would have been redeveloped, although there was the possibility of it airing as a TV movie on NBC. Obviously, after the murders that never happened, although for years after network execs joked that they had “Frogmen” in their back pocket in case they ever needed a sweeps ratings jolt.

In his book “Top of the Rock,” Littlefield also remembered how much Ohlmeyer was by Simpson’s side, often to the “detriment” of NBC. “Don spent countless afternoons in prayer sessions with O.J. and Rosey Grier. He was at the L.A. County jail far more frequently than he was in the office.”

Meanwhile, at the same time, “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” was starting to surge and beat “Late Show With David Letterman” as Leno leaned into the O.J. Simpson media chaos (adding to the circus by famously introducing the “Dancing Itos,” a parody of Judge Lance Ito). Later, also on NBC, “Seinfeld” parodied Simpson’s defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran, with the character “Jackie Chiles,” played by Phil Morris.

Beckman recalled the network’s daily 2:30 p.m. programming meetings — and how the Simpson trial was always in the air, yet never discussed. Ohlmeyer would quickly leave to see Simpson after those meetings.

“It was always hanging over us, what was going on. We all knew where Don was off to as soon as the meeting was over,” Beckman said. “We knew it was a topic not to bring up or discuss in that room… I remember a few weeks after the verdict, he called me and Warren up to his office and sort of thanked us for the way we handled all of it. We were able to continue to work and do our jobs and never bring it up with him. We kind of just accepted what was going on and didn’t make an issue of it. And that was that.”

Well, not quite. Although Ohlmeyer never publicly cited Norm Macdonald’s O.J. Simpson jokes as a reason (he didn’t mince words about Simpson as the killer) — and even former execs like Beckman can’t confirm this for sure — it’s widely documented that his dislike for the comedian led to Macdonald’s ouster as “Weekend Update” anchor on “Saturday Night Live.”

“It’s possible; I do know Don always had a bug up his ass about Norm Macdonald; maybe that was the reason,” Beckman said. “That was an ongoing complaint of his. ‘We gotta get rid of him.’ It’s possible.”

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.