NBC Drama VP Passes Away

LOS ANGELES: Nora E. O’Brien, the VP of drama programming for NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, passed away suddenly earlier this week after collapsing on the set of the network’s series pilot Parenthood. She was just 44 years old.

On Wednesday, O’Brien was visiting the set in Berkeley, California, for the new series pilot, based on the Steve Martin film of the same name, and took a break to play basketball with co-workers. She collapsed after saying she felt dizzy and was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Reports indicate that she died of a brain aneurysm.

A joint statement issued from Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, the co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios; and Angela Bromstad, the president of primetime entertainment, said: "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of our beloved colleague Nora, who was respected and cherished by so many people in the entertainment community. She’ll truly be missed by all of us."

O’Brien joined Universal Media Studios in her position in January 2008, after having worked at the SCI FI Channel, where she was VP of original programming.