Alan Sacks, renowned for co-creating Welcome Back, Kotter, and producing numerous Disney Channel projects, has passed away. The veteran producer was 81 years old.
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The producer’s wife, talent agent Annette van Duren, told Deadline that Sacks died Tuesday morning in New York City after his mantle cell lymphoma took an aggressive turn in recent weeks.
“It was treated for him to dance at our daughter’s June wedding and walk her down the aisle,” she told the outlet. “After that, the chemotherapy stopped being effective. He started hospice last week. He died peacefully listening to Tibetan music for the final few days and nights at age 81.”
Sacks was born on December 9, 1942, in Brooklyn and began his career in the research department of ABC Television. After relocating to Los Angeles, he advanced his career at ABC, taking on the role of program executive.
Together with Gabe Kaplan and Peter Meyerson, he played a pivotal role in the development and co-creation of Welcome Back, Kotter. Sacks drew inspiration for the classic sitcom from his high school friends in Brooklyn and also Kaplan’s stand-up routine.
In 1984, after an unsuccessful project focused on the L.A. band The Runaways, he repurposed the footage for the borderline experimental film Du-Beat-e-o, which attempts to showcase the 80s L.A. punk scene. The movie follows a director racing against the clock to complete a film featuring Joan Jett and stars Ray Sharkey alongside Derf Scratch from the band Fear.
Next, Sacks wrote and produced the 1986 skateboarding film Thrashin’, which starred Josh Brolin, Robert Rusler, and Pamela Gidley. The movie also marked the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ film debut.
Alan Sacks Transitions to Disney Fare and Jonas Brothers Projects
Sacks transitioned to film production for the Disney Channel, beginning with Smart House. He produced the Emmy-winning The Color of Friendship and served as executive producer for Camp Rock and its sequel, featuring Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers.
He also contributed to other Disney Channel projects, including The Other Me, Pixel Perfect, and You Wish. Additionally, he produced the TV series Jonas and the film Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience before continuing his career with the Jonas Brothers company.
Meanwhile, his last production was the podcast Peter & the Acid King, which delved into the unsolved murder of his friend Peter Ivers, the host of the series New Wave Theatre, in 1984. For this 2023 podcast, he conducted interviews with over 70 people in pursuit of answers regarding Ivers’ death.