Producer Michel M. Grilikhes Passes
Known TV, arena spectacles like Disney on Parade
Culver City, CA — Michel M. Grilikhes, a prolific television executive and producer of large-scale theatrical spectaculars, died March 9 of kidney failure at Kindred Hospital in Culver City. He was 83.
Grilikhes, known as Mike, began his show business career in the 1950s at CBS, where he was a producer and director of such series as Wanted, Suspense, Danger, 21st President, Best of Broadway, Studio One, Festival of Light, General Electric Theater and The Seven Lively Arts.
He was also a production executive on Route 66, Have Gun, Will Travel, Checkmate, The Tom Ewell Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Dennis the Menace. In addition, he produced, wrote or directed such shows as Playhouse 90, Let Freedom Ring and An American Original — Grandma Moses.
Other projects included writing the screenplay for the 1966 United Artists movie Duel at Diablo and directing and producing Color It Happy for Hanna-Barbera and ABC.
Landmark Cost-Cutting Savvy Helps NBC Reign in
Production Bill for Disney On Parade in 1969
In 1969, while working for NBC, the network asked Grilikhes to manage the costs of its co-production Disney on Parade. Rather than mounting a prohibitively expensive production with 130 actors and 26 trucks of scenery, he redesigned it and reduced the cast and stage by half—saving a great deal of money in the process
Over the next four years he produced three more lucrative Disney on Parade shows. Subsequent productions included an area-sized Peter Pan, starring Cathy Rigby, and The Wizard of Oz Live!, a musical performed in 70 cities over 18 months beginning in 1989.
Grilikhes and his wife, actress Laraine Day, led the development of a permanent production in 1963 in Hawaii: the Polynesian Cultural Center, which became a tourist attraction on Oahu. He was a leader in the Mormon Church, which founded the center to help preserve the islands’ past.
New York-born Veteran Ran Motion Picture
Production Unit for the Marines
Born in New York City, Grilikhes was the son of French artist and director Anatol Grilikhes and his wife, Blanche, a concert violinist and poet. He earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University and studied drama at Yale University.
At 19, he joined the Marines and was put in charge of its motion picture production unit. He spent 20 years in the military, served in Korea and retired as a major in 1962.
In addition to Day, his wife of 46 years, Grilikhes is survived by two daughters, a son, a stepson, a stepdaughter, two sisters and several grandchildren.