Schlatter was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Webster Groves, Missouri, a St. Louis inner-ring suburb. Born the son of a violinist mother and a salesman father. He is Jewish. As a teenager, Schlatter sang for two seasons with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, where his mother also performed. He attended Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, California. Schlatter was a Hollywood agent in the band and act department of MCA Records. After several years, he left to become general manager at the Sunset Strip nightclub Ciro's. The comedy team of Dan Rowan and Dick Martin performed there. In the early 1960s, following a short stint in Las Vegas, he started producing variety series and specials for television. Between 1964 and 1970, he oversaw the annual telecast of the Grammy Awards. In 1968, he formed George Schlatter Productions, noted for Rowan and Martin's Laugh In on NBC. In the 1970s and 1980s, Schlatter produced and directed several television series, while continuing to produce variety specials. In 1987, he started "The American Comedy Awards", which has become an annual event. Schlatter also produced a few feature films, and owns The Editing Company, which for many years was one of Hollywood's busiest state-of-the-art post production facilities. He is married to former actress Jolene Brand who was a regular on several Ernie Kovacs shows of the early 1960s. They have two daughters, Andrea and Maria. Andrea Justine is a champion equestrian rider. Maria S. Schlatter is an Emmy award winning television producer.
Television work
A partial listing of his television achievements follows.
Executive producer
Muhammad Ali's All-Star 60th Birthday Celebration!
A partial listing of films that he produced and/or directed follows.
Get Bruce
Fire and Ice
Norman... Is That You?
Awards and honors
Between 1968 and 1996, Schlatter was nominated for 15 Emmy Awards, winning twice for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as Outstanding Musical or Variety Program and for Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration as Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special. He was also nominated for a Writers Guild of America award in 1997. For his work on television, Schlatter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Blvd.
