Lin Bolen

Lin Bolen (March 21, 1941 – January 19, 2018) was an American television executive and producer. She was most noted for her role at NBC daytime television programming as the first female vice president of a TV network, a position she held from 1972 until 1976. In this role, Bolen was responsible for commissioning the long-running game show Wheel of Fortune and is credited with bringing successful long form to network soap operas. Bolen was mentioned in Who's Who in America as a trailblazer for women in television. Early life and education Bolen was born in Benton, Illinois. Her father was a United Mine Workers union organizer. Her sister Marilyn Bolen was notable for being the first woman stockbroker to work on the St. Louis exchange floor. Bolen graduated from Benton Consolidated High School. She attended Miss Hickey's School in St. Louis. From 1961 to 1963, she attended City College of New York, where she studied advertising and communications media. Career In 1961, Bolen began her career producing commercials. She then worked on documentaries about Twiggy, and then as a writer and producer of documentary films, which included Crisis in America – Welfare for ABC-TV and Stravinsky's Requiem to Martin Luther King with the New York City Ballet.