Harris Katleman, a veteran American television executive who oversaw the development of numerous landmark series, has died at the age of 97. He passed away on 8 July 2026 of natural causes in Los Angeles, with his death announced by his family. Across a career spanning studios including MCA, MGM and Twentieth Century Fox Television, Katleman played a key role in bringing to screen classics such as The Simpsons, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, CHiPS and In Living Color, making him a significant figure in shaping decades of popular American television.

Born in Omaha on 19 August 1928, Katleman moved to Beverly Hills aged eight and left UCLA at 19 to join MCA Artists as an "office boy", later becoming a protégé of Lew Wasserman and being credited with quadrupling the New York television business. He went on to lead MGM Television, where he helped develop titles including Medical Center and How the West Was Won, before becoming President/CEO of Twentieth Century Fox Television in 1980. There he oversaw the final years of M*A*S*H and developed and sold hits including L.A. Law and The Simpsons. He published a memoir, You Can't Fall Off the Floor, in 2018, and is survived by three children, seven grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.