Susan Futterman

Susan Futterman at an ABC meeting circa 2005 CE.

Susan Futterman was the director of Standards and Practices at ABC from 1976 to 2006 CE, during the tenure of the Original Series and its successor, Galactica 1980.

Her stepfather, Frank Perls, was an art dealer in Beverly Hills; Perls' brother had his own gallery in New York.

Owing to Futterman's position at the studio, she clashed with various creatives over the course of her 3 decade tenure. She was described by illusionist and author Jim Steinmeyer as "stern and schoolmarm-ish, with her hair parted severely in the center and owlish horned-rimmed glasses."

Criticisms

Futterman ran afoul of Glen A. Larson, particularly during the run of Galactica 1980. The numerous jokes about Arnie's meatballs were peppered into the two-part episode "The Night the Cylons Landed," as a result of her belief that they were lewd. In addition to Larson's issues with Futterman, she was not fondly remembered by 1980 story editors Allan Cole and Chris Bunch; Cole being the more diplomatic of the two, notably when he told her "that they ought to open every episode of the show with an "educational" tag that read: 'Why aren't you little bug snipes watching 60 Minutes.'" Cole noted that she agreed with that proposal.

Other creatives ran afoul of her, with Jim Steinmeyer noting her intense interest in a Doug Henning special of the 1980s.

In 1994, Dr. Jay Gordon's comments regarding the terminal effects of drugs and alcohol being marketed to children were censored by Futterman's group on a broadcast of the March 9, 1994 episode of the daytime talk show Home. Gordon believed Futterman solely responsible, with Home's executive producer Woody Fraser initially overriding her decision to censor Gordon―one of many times he sparred with Futterman on that show.

Fraser criticized Futterman's censorship as being driven by advertising, noting "Susan Futterman never says to you directly it has anything to do with potential sponsor problems, but the Home show is considered to be an advertiser-friendly show. So we sell a lot of spots. We make a lot of money for the network."

Other works

Actress and comedienne Whoopi Goldberg noted that she became friends with Futterman during her tenure at hosting the Academy Awards.

Retirement

Futterman retired in 2006, embarking on her "retirement occupation" as an art curator due to her interest in art, owing to her stepfather and art dealer, Frank Perls.