Bolen, Lin (1941–)

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Bolen, Lin (1941–)

American television executive. Born 1941 in Benton, Illinois; attended City College of New York.

After producing tv commercials, was hired by NBC's prime-time programming department in Los Angeles (1972); became head of the network's daytime programming in NY, the highest-ranking position then held by a woman at any network (during her tenure, NBC reached number one in daytime programming ratings for 1st time); left NBC and formed Lin Bolen Productions (1976); joined Fred Silverman's InterMedia Entertainment (1982), as head of creative affairs. Faye Dunaway's character of Diana Christensen in film Network is thought to have been modeled on Bolen.