Biography
David Yarnell was an American producer and director whose career spanned radio, television and film. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he attended the Cooper Union School of Art and Brooklyn Law School before beginning work in radio and becoming programme director at New York’s Channel 5. He created and executive-produced the early episodes of the talk show Firing Line and produced radio broadcasts of Muhammad Ali fights.
In television he produced In Concert (later Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert), Candid Camera specials, Love, American Style, That’s Incredible and the long-running Joe Bob Briggs series on TNT, for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also produced the CBS television film Deep in My Heart and documentaries including the American Masters profile of Billy Wilder. Yarnell produced the 2018 feature Can You Ever Forgive Me?, having optioned the source material two decades earlier.
He was married to talent agent Toni Howard from 1989 until his death in Los Angeles on 28 January 2026. Together they established the Toni and David Yarnell Merit Award of Excellence in Architecture and Art at Cooper Union.
