Brandon Tartikoff (
January 13,
1949 —
August 27,
1997) was a television executive who was credited with turning around NBC's low
prime time reputation with such hit series as
Hill Street Blues,
L.A. Law,
ALF,
Family Ties,
The Cosby Show,
Cheers,
Miami Vice,
The Golden Girls,
Knight Rider,
The A-Team,
St. Elsewhere,
Night Court,
Hunter,
Highway to Heaven,
Matlock,
Remington Steele,
A Different World,
227 and
Empty Nest.
Tartikoff also helped develop
Punky Brewster, for which he named the title character after a girl he had a crush on in school.
Brandon, the pet dog on
Punky Brewster, was named after Tartikoff. He was also involved in the creation of
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and
Beggars and Choosers.