He began his career at ABC and in the 1970s became executive producer of the network’s “Monday Night Football,” which featured as on-air personalities veteran sports broadcaster Howard Cosell , former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith and New York Giants Hall of Famer Frank Gifford .

“The shots of stadium lights gleaming off the players’ helmets, backed by the staccato voice of Howard Cosell, made even humdrum matchups seem like once-in-a-lifetime epics,” the New York Times once wrote.

After several years in that post, he ran an independent company, Ohlmeyer Communications, before returning to NBC in 1993 as West Coast president with oversight over entertainment programming.

Amid his professional successes, Mr. Ohlmeyer faced personal struggles, including alcoholism, for which he sought treatment at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., after an intervention that reportedly involved NBC President Bob Wright.

Mr. Ohlmeyer denied the charge, noting that he had in no way moved to prohibit Jay Leno, then the host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” to traffic in similar humor.