Garner prod'n company on TV docu trail
'Private Eye' first project for Cherokee
Actor James Garner has formed a production company to create television documentaries, the first of which will be "Private Eye: Knight in Tarnished Armor."
Dubbed Cherokee Documentaries, the new company is a joint venture between Garner, documentary producer Irwin Rosten and TV marketing exec Bob Klein.
Cherokee also has five other projects in development: "I Got Rhythm," a history of the movie musical; "The Funny People," a history of screen comics from Chaplin to Carrey; "The Lovers: Great Screen Romances"; "The Creators: From Griffith to Spielberg"; and "The Century Show," a millennial miniseries tracing the development of show business on stage, radio, screen and television in the 20th century.
"Private Eye" will trace the colorful history of the private detectives of fact and fiction, from Scotland Yard to Sam Spade. Garner, who portrayed Sam Spade on screen and private detective Jim Rockford on TV's "The Rockford Files," will host and narrate.
Klein, president of the media consulting firm Klein & [sic], said that Cherokee has begun talking with motion picture-based cable webs, pay-TV cable networks and broadcast outlets to sell the shows. The company will not begin production on "Private Eye" until a domestic TV deal is in place.
Rosten is an Emmy-winning writer, producer and director whose credits include "National Geographic" specials and entertainment documentaries. Garner's investment in Cherokee Documentaries was made through his production company Cherokee Prods. Garner's longtime manager, Bill Robinson, will represent the new documentary producer.
