David Yarnell, producer of the critically acclaimed film “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” died on January 28 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96 years old.
Yarnell is known for his work on Fox Searchlight’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” The film, released in 2018, stars Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant and is based on Lee Israel’s memoir. Yarnell optioned the rights to the book 20 years before making the film and developed a friendly relationship with Israel that contributed to the film’s success. Both McCarthy and Grant received Oscar nominations for their performances.
Yarnell also produced and directed TNT’s “Joe Bob Briggs” for 11 years, for which he received an Emmy nomination. His other credits include the CBS film Deep in My Heart, which won a Primetime Emmy Award for Anne Bancroft, and ABC’s In Concert, which featured artists such as the Rolling Stones, Queen and Black Sabbath. The show, later known as “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert,” aired on the network for one season and then went into syndication for nine seasons, totaling 180 shows.
Additionally, Yarnell produced multiple “Candid Camera” NBC specials. ABC’s “That’s Incredible.” HBO comedy special featuring Roseanne Barr and Dolly Parton. ABC’s comedy anthology series “Love, American Style” was later spun off as “Happy Days.”
Yarnell also founded his own production company, DY Productions, and focused on documentaries, including airing the first television biography of Billy Wilder on PBS’s American Masters series in 1998. An avid film buff, Yarnell expressed his love of Hollywood through the production of series such as “AFI 100 Years,” a TNT series of 10 one-hour specials celebrating American cinema, and the television show “TV’s Greatest Performances Parts I & II.” ABC.
Yarnell began his career in radio, graduated from law school in Brooklyn, became program director at Channel 5 in New York, and then graduated from Cooper Union School of Art in Manhattan. The latter inspired him to pursue his dream of working in radio, film, and television.
At Channel 5, Yarnell created the weekly radio show Firing Line with William F. Buckley and worked with David Frost to produce the radio broadcast of the Muhammad Ali fight. He eventually moved into television, becoming vice president of programming at Metromedia and RKO General, then an executive at Screen Gems.
Yarnell was born on March 14, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York. Survivors include his wife, Toni Howard, a CAA employee; The couple married in 1989 and co-founded the Toni and David Yarnell Award for Excellence in Architecture and the Arts at Cooper Union to give back to aspiring creators and continue Yarnell’s legacy.
