Chet Forte

Fulvio Chester Forte Jr. (August 7, 1935 – May 18, 1996) was an American television director and sports radio talk show host. He was also a standout college basketball player for Columbia and was the UPI Player of the Year in 1956–57. After dabbling in semi-pro leagues, he moved on to work in broadcasting. He was hired by ABC in 1963, where he worked for 25 years. He served as producer and director for a variety of broadcasts, most notably in sports for the Olympic Games (1968, 1984), the Indianapolis 500, and football, which resulted in him being awarded eleven Emmy Awards. He was the first director of Monday Night Football, which he oversaw from its inception in 1970 until he was fired from ABC in 1987. As such, he was featured prominently in his exploits (such as his gambling addiction, which later doomed his career) and innovations in Monday Night Mayhem, a book about the early years of the program that was later turned into a film (where he was played by Nicholas Turturro).