- Producer who worked side by side with his younger brother, Boris Vanoff (1932-2006), who was a talent coordinator, on The Hollywood Palace (1964). Boris was also a cameraman for ABC-TV in Buffalo.
- Began his show-business career as a hoofer where he met his wife Felicia, also a dancer. Becoming a producer, he always used dancers and choreographers in his television series and specials.
- Got into real estate when he partnered in purchasing the Columbia Studio lot at Sunset and Gower, in Hollywood, which became the Sunset-Gower Studio.
- Formed Zodiac Productions with William O. Harbach, his co-producer and long-time associate-friend, they produced The Hollywood Palace (1964) variety show for ABC (1964-70).
- When ABC moved The Les Crane Show (1964) from New York to Los Angeles in the summer of 1965, he and his The Hollywood Palace (1964) Art Department--James Trittipo and Hub Braden--created the set for the nightly conversation interview format. The show, originating at the 1313 Vine Street Theater (three blocks south of "The Hollywood Palace" set), was retitled ABC's Nightlife (1964), with Nipsey Russell as Les' second banana. The set was a series of circular cascading benches allowing guests to sit one on one with Les; it could also expand to include additional participants in the discussions. Vanoff forbade any controversial dialog during the discussions, on orders from ABC headquarters in New York. The program was pitted against The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) on NBC, but it only lasted until November of 1965, when it was canceled.
- Was a founding director of the Foundation for the Joffrey Ballet."He also was an invited member, sitting on the Board of Directors of the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles.
- Was a cue card holder on Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (1948) and later Como promoted him to be the series' associate producer. Together with William O. Harbach, Vanoff co-produced The Tonight Show (1953) when Steve Allen was the host. Additionally, he created and produced the televised "Kennedy Center Honors." In the 1960s he produced more than ten hours of television every week, including shows with Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Don Knotts, Milton Berle and Sonny & Cher.
- Ofen likened himself to legendary Broadway producer The Hollywood Palace (1964) when producing The Hollywood Palace (1964), which was shot at 1735 North Vine Street and Hollywood Boulevard in the spring of 1967. He had the show's design team of James Trittipo and Hub Braden put together an estimate for the ABC studio-theater property undergoing major renovations, which would have been undertaken during the show's 1967 summer hiatus. The main stage underground basement area would have been converted into a swimming pool for aquatic staged performances. This would have removed an orchestra basement lounge, dressing rooms and storage rooms. The stage floor would be on tracks to slide backward, to store behind the cyclorama stage back wall. A second sliding ice rink floor would be on top of the stage floor (rear back wall) storage area, on another set of tracks. A major problem, for utilizing the rear of the building for the two tracking floor storage areas was the backside property, which was owned by the Methodist Church. The Knickerbocker Hotel had been purchased and converted into a Methodist Senior Citizen assisted living residential facility. ABC would not make a real estate commitment for the renovation, nor foot the reconstruction costs as projected. Vanoff then initiated a second proposal to move the series to Culver City Studios, where the expanded variety showcase could include an ice rink and swimming pool. Vanoff aborted the proposal when ABC objected to moving the show out of their Hollywood-Vine Studio. After the series was canceled in January 1970, Vanoff--involved with real estate--took over the former Columbia Pictures Studio located at Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street, renaming the abandoned lot "The Sunset Gower Studios." In 1979 he proposed a variety show to the network brass at NBC Television, titled "The BIG SHOW" encompassing a swimming pool, an ice rink, a performance three-ring stage surrounded by a live studio audience, hosted by rotating two celebrity stars, as a 90-minute weekly variety show presentation. NBC jumped on the idea. The premiere of The Big Show (1980) was a two-hour spectacle videotaped on one of the large film stages at The Sunset-Gower Studios, 1438 North Gower Street, in Hollywood. The show premiered in September 1980 and lasted just one season.
- Started his career as a dancer in Charles Weidman's Dance Theatre. Later he was a lead dancer for the New York City Opera. He was also in the dance line in the "Kiss Me, Kate" original Broadway production. The Cole Porter musical opened 12/30/1948, closing on 7/28/1951 after 1077 performances, and featured Patricia Morison, Alfred Drake, Lisa Kirk and Marc Breaux.
- Former personal assistant was Nancy Atchison-Aylesworth.
- Won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 1990 for his production of the "City of Angels" musical on Broadway. Additionally, he won five Emmy Awards as a producer for: "The Julie Andrews Hour" in 1973, "The Kennedy Center Honors" in 1984, 1987 and 1989, and Julie Andrews's special, "The Sound of Christmas," in 1988. In 1990, he was named "Showman of the Year" by the Publicists Guild of America (which later merged into the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees-IATSE).
- Born 10/25/29 in Macedonia, Greece. His father and mother Fima emigrated with he and his youngest brother Boris (of Los Angeles), his three sisters, Alexandra (Zajack of Los Angeles), Venka (Richards of Los Angeles) and Nada (Alex of Buffalo) to the US settling in Pittsburg, NY. He and his siblings were raised in Pittsburg and Buffalo.
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