Former Mark Burnett Exec Heads to Merv Griffin

BEVERLY HILLS, February 8:
Roy Bank, a former development executive at Mark Burnett Productions, has
joined Merv Griffin Entertainment (MGE) in the newly created position of
president of television.

Bank is the creator and
executive producer of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? and Amnesia, the new Dennis Miller-hosted game show premiering on NBC this month.
Bank started in the industry as a producer for Woody Fraser, before moving into
development at Reveille Productions. Bank also worked with Mark
Burnett on several shows including the premiere seasons of The
Apprentice and RockStar: INXS, before joining Mark Burnett Productions in the
corporate division fulltime in 2005.

“Merv left us with an
entrepreneurial model and a mandate to move ahead with our core business which
is television,” said Griffin Group’s heads, Ron Ward and Rob Pritchard, in a
joint statement. “No one could fit our expectations in this area better than
Roy.”

Bank added, “I was drawn
to MGE, not only by the tradition that comes with Merv Griffin’s incredible
legacy, but also by the unique opportunity to implement my own vision with the
backing of Merv’s hand-picked team.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski