Bernie West (May 30, 1918 – July 29, 2010) was an American television writer best known for his work in situation comedies such as All in the Family, its spinoff The Jeffersons, and Three's Company.
Biography Born on May 30, 1918, in the Bronx as Bernard Wessler, to Russian-Jewish immigrants; he earned his undergraduate degree from Baruch College, earning a Bachelor of Business Science in advertising.[1] West worked as a nightclub comedian, and performed on tour with the U.S.O. in the Pacific Theatre after being rejected from the military based on medical issues.[2] As part of the comedy duo Ross and West, he toured the hotel circuit in the Catskills and Poconos with Ross Martin, quipping, "Everything we did may not have been original, but what we stole was good!"[3] After Martin left, he was replaced by Mickey Ross, a college friend of West's who changed his name from Isadore Rovinsky so that the comedy duo could retain the Ross and West name.[1][3]
Broadway West appeared on Broadway in the 1956 production of Bells Are Ringing, creating the role of Dr. Kitchell, the song-writing dentist on stage and appearing in the 1960 film version starring Judy Holliday and Dean Martin.[3]
West also appeared in 1962's All American by Mel Brooks and starring Ray Bolger, Poor Bitos with Donald Pleasence, The Beauty Part with Bert Lahr and the 1969 production of The Front Page alongside Helen Hayes.[2][3] He appeared on television on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Phil Silvers Show, and a guest appearance on Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C..[2]
Television work After submitting a script for the show in 1971, West and partner Mickey Ross became writers for Norman Lear's All in the Family, working with another partner, Don Nicholl, as producers.[2] West won an Emmy Award in 1973 for his writing on the episode "The Bunkers and the Swingers," together with Ross and Lee Kalcheim.[1][3] The writing team created the character played by Bea Arthur as the lead in the All in the Family spinoff Maude. The trio wrote and produced The Jeffersons, another spinoff from All in the Family that ran for a decade starting in 1975. They created, produced, and wrote for the short-lived situation comedy The Dumplings, whose pilot aired in 1975 and which ran as a weekly series in early 1976. In 1977, they created Three's Company, which ran until 1984, as well as that show's less-successful spinoffs The Ropers and Three's a Crowd.[3]
Together with his wife Mimi, who died in April 2004, West was a generous contributor to the Los Angeles Free Clinic. She had first discovered the Clinic after driving her husband to his job writing for All in the Family. West regularly contributed a portion of his salary while his wife worked there without pay. In 1997, the couple donated $500,000 towards the provision of pediatric dental care for those children without access to dentists.[4][5]
West died at age 92 on July 29, 2010, at his home in Beverly Hills, California due to complications of Alzheimer's disease. He is survived by two daughters and two grandsons.[2] He is buried at Hillside Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
References 1. Thursby, Keith. "Bernie West dies at 92; writer and producer on 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons'", Los Angeles Times, August 4, 2010. 2. Weber, Bruce. "Bernie West, a TV Writer Known for ‘All in the Family,’ Dies at 92", The New York Times, August 3, 2010. 3. Barnes, Mike. "Emmy winner Bernie West dies at 92: Worked on 'All in the Family,' 'Jeffersons,' 'Three's Company'", The Hollywood Reporter, August 2, 2010. 4. Oliver, Myrna. "Miriam 'Mimi' West, 81; Raised Millions for the L.A. Free Clinic", Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2004. 5. The History of Saban Community Clinic, Saban Community Clinic.
Jonathan Gold (July 28, 1960 – July 21, 2018) was an American food critic. He wrote for the Los Angeles Times and had previously written for LA Weekly and Gourmet, as well as being a regular on KCRW's Good Food radio program. Gold often chose small, ethnic restaurants for his reviews, although he covered all types of cuisine. In 2007, he became the first food critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Career
Gold began his journalism career at the LA Weekly in 1982 as a proofreader while he was studying art and music at UCLA, and eventually became one of the paper’s most popular writers.[1] He was a editor for the Weekly in the 1980s in their music section,[2] and held a number of other positions with the paper. Encouraged by Weekly founder Jay Levin,[3] he started his column Counter Intelligence in 1986, reviewing underreported restaurants in the ethnic neighborhoods of Los Angeles.[2][4] The column eventually made it to the Los Angeles Times from 1990 to 1996, while also writing reviews of more upscale restaurants for California and Los Angeles magazines, as well as music stories for Blender, Spin, Rolling Stone, and Details.[4][5] In 1999, he moved from Los Angeles to New York City to become a restaurant critic for Gourmet magazine,[1] and was the first food writer to be honored as a National Magazine Award finalist in criticism by the American Society of Magazine Editors, eventually being nominated once more.[6]
In 2001, he moved back to Los Angeles, where he revived Counter Intelligence for the Weekly while continuing to write for Gourmet.[4] Gold became the first food critic to win the Pulitzer Prize in 2007;[7] the citation referenced his "his zestful, wide ranging restaurant reviews, expressing the delight of an erudite eater."[8]
Gold's work is profiled in the 2015 documentary film City of Gold,[9] which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[10]
In 2012, Gold returned to the Los Angeles Times.[11]
Personal life
Gold was born in Los Angeles; his father was Jewish and worked as a probation officer, his mother was a teacher who converted to Judaism. While a freshman at UCLA, he worked briefly at a kosher restaurant owned by Steven Spielberg's mother, Leah Adler. He married Laurie Ochoa, former editor-in-chief of the LA Weekly; they had two children.[2][12]
Jonathan Gold's younger brother Mark Gold was the long-time president of the Santa Monica-based non-profit organization Heal the Bay[13] and is now the associate director of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.[2]
In July 2018, Gold was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.[7] He died on July 21, 2018, at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles at the age of 57.[14]
Bibliography
Gold, Jonathan (2000). Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles. LA Weekly Books. ISBN 978-0-312-26723-0.
References
1. Goodyear, Dana (November 9, 2009). "The Scavenger". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X.
2. Wells, Pete (July 21, 2018). "Jonathan Gold, Food Critic Who Celebrated L.A.'s Cornucopia, Dies at 57". The New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
3. Kinney, Tulsa (July 2, 2018). "Out to the Galleries with Times Foodie Jonathan Gold - Artillery Magazine". Artillery Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
4. "Jonathan Gold Wins Pulitzer Prize". L.A. Weekly. April 16, 2007. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
5. Vaughn, Ben (February 12, 2016). "My Breakfast with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Restaurant Critic Jonathan Gold". The Daily Meal. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
6. Groves, Emily (June 2007). "Gourmand About Town". American Journalism Review. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
7. "Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer-winning restaurant critic, dies". Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
8. "Jonathan Gold of LA Weekly". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
9. Scott, A. O. (March 10, 2016). "Review: Tastes of Los Angeles in 'City of Gold'". The New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
10. Adams, Sam (January 28, 2015). "Sundance 2015: 'City of Gold' documents eclectic Times critic Jonathan Gold". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
11. "Jonathan Gold rejoins The Times". Los Angeles Times. March 5, 2012.
12.Nathan, Joan (June 27, 2012). "L.A.'s Jewish Top Foodie". Tablet.
13. Hewitt, Allison (January 11, 2016). "Q and A with Mark Gold: How a new UCLA research plan will create a sustainable Los Angeles". UCLA Newsroom.
14. Chang, Andrea (July 21, 2018), "Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold dies at 57", The Los Angeles Times
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016)[2] was an American film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor, best known for creating Happy Days and its various spin-offs, developing Neil Simon's 1965 play The Odd Couple for television, and directing Pretty Woman, Beaches, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve, Mother's Day, The Princess Diaries, and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
Early life
Garry Kent Marshall was born in The Bronx, New York on November 13, 1934, the son of Anthony Wallace Marshall (1906–99), a director of industrial films and later a producer, and Marjorie Irene (née Ward; 1908-1983), a tap dance teacher who ran a tap dance school.[3] He was the brother of actress/director Penny Marshall and Ronny Marshall Hallin, a television producer. His father was of Italian descent, his family having come from San Martino sulla Marrucina, Chieti, Abruzzo,[4] and his mother was of German, English, and Scottish ancestry.[5] His father changed his last name from Masciarelli to Marshall before Garry was born.[2] Marshall was baptized Presbyterian and also raised Lutheran for a time.[6]
He attended De Witt Clinton High School and Northwestern University, where he wrote a sports column for The Daily Northwestern, and is a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.[7][8]
Career Marshall began his career as a joke writer for such comedians as Joey Bishop and Phil Foster and became a writer for The Tonight Show with Jack Paar.[9]
In 1961, he moved to Hollywood, where he teamed up with Jerry Belson as a writer for television. The pair worked on The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Danny Thomas Show, and The Lucy Show. Their first television series as creator-producers was Hey, Landlord, which lasted one season (1966–67). Then they adapted Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple for television.
On his own, Marshall created Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley (starring his sister Penny), and Mork and Mindy, which were produced by his associates Thomas L. Miller, Robert L. Boyett, and Edward K. Milkis.[10] He was also a co-creator of Makin' It,[11] which the three men also produced.
In the early 1980s, he met Héctor Elizondo while playing basketball and became great friends. Elizondo appeared in every film that Marshall directed, beginning with his first feature film Young Doctors in Love. Elizondo once noted that he is written into all of Marshall's contracts whether he wanted to do the film or not.[12]
In the opening credits of Exit to Eden (their eighth film together), Elizondo is credited "As Usual ... Hector Elizondo." In 1984, Marshall had a film hit as the writer and director of The Flamingo Kid.[13]
Marshall wore many hats during this period of his career: Most of his hit television series were created and executive produced by him. His first producing assignment came with Hey, Landlord in 1966. He stepped up the very next year, producing The Lucy Show.[14] Then came successes in producing The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Mork and Mindy, Angie, and Happy Days. He launched independent productions through his theater (The Falcon in Toluca Lake) and in association with productions launched with talent he was grooming and working with for years. One such project titled Four Stars was directed by Lynda Goodfriend (who portrayed Lori Beth in Happy Days), and was based on a play Goodfriend had read when she was studying at the Lee Strasberg Center, which had been written by John Schulte and Kevin Mahoney. It starred Julie Paris (the daughter of Jerry Paris) and Bert Kramer. Schulte later co-wrote with TV veteran writer and producer, Fred Fox, Jr., who penned and produced a number of Marshall's television series, including Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.[15]
Marshall went on to focus on directing feature films, with a series of hits, such as Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Eve.
Marshall was also an actor, appearing in Murphy Brown and in such films as Soapdish, On the Lot, and provided a guest-starring voice for The Simpsons episodes Eight Misbehavin' and Homer the Father. He also appeared in two episodes of Happy Days as a drummer.
His theater credits included Wrong Turn at Lungfish, which he wrote in collaboration with Lowell Ganz,[16] The Roast with Jerry Belson,[17] Shelves and Happy Days: A New Musical with Paul Williams,[18] which had its premiere at the Falcon Theater in Burbank, California, February 24, 2006.[19] He portrayed the role of "director" on Burbank's "Lights... camera... action!" float in the 2014 Rose Parade. In 2014, Marshall appeared in a guest star role in a February episode in season 11 of Two and a Half Men.
His son Scott Marshall is a director and his daughter Kathleen Marshall is an actress and producer. In 1997, he co-authored the memoir Wake Me When It's Funny with his daughter Lori Marshall.
Death On the morning of July 19, 2016, Marshall died at a hospital in Burbank, California at the age of 81 due to complications of pneumonia after suffering a stroke.[20][21] Gary Marshall is buried at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
Awards and nominations In 1996, Marshall was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.[22] He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame for his contributions to the field of television in 1997.[23]
In 2012, he was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters' Broadcasting Hall of Fame.[24]
Marshall received the Valentine Davies Award (1995) and Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement (2014)[25] from the Writers Guild of America.[26]
References 1. "Director Garry Marshall dead at 81" CBS News. July 19, 2016. 2. "Shlemiel! Shlemozzle! And Cue the Soprano" The New York Times. September 4, 2005. 3. Garry Marshall Interview, comedyontap.com 4. LaSalle, Mick (May 26, 2006). "This Jewish boy's life will make you laugh (and get a bit verklempt?)". The San Francisco Chronicle. 5. "An Interview with the Cast of Keeping up with the Steins" 2008-06-25. Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. 6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. 7. Spy. Sussex Publishers, LLC. 1990-04-01. p. 82. 8. "Alpha Tau Omega: Life Loyal Taus Listing" www.ato.org. 9. "Writer-director Garry Marshall dies at age 81" Associated Press. 10. Staiger, Janet (October 1, 2000). Blockbuster TV: Must-See Sitcoms in the Network Era. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814783511. 11. "Makin' It | TV Series | 1978" Hollywood.com. February 3, 2015. 12. Kung, Michelle (August 20, 2004). "Loyal Subject" Entertainment Weekly. 13. Eisenberg, Eric (September 20, 2012). "Brett Ratner Producing Remake Of The Flamingo Kid". CINEMABLEND. 14. "The Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television - Marshall, Garry" museum.tv. 15. "Every Generation Has Its Zorro - Untitled Document". markets.financialcontent.com. 16. Gerard, Jeremy (February 22, 1993). "Review: 'Wrong Turn at Lungfish'" 17. "The Roast @ Winter Garden Theatre | Playbill" Playbill. 18. Williams, Paul; Marshall, Garry (January 1, 2010). Happy Days: A New Musical. Samuel French, Inc. ISBN 9780573698293. 19. "Happy Days Musical, With McIntyre, Returns to CA's Falcon This Summer" 20. "TV, film legend Garry Marshall dies at 81". USA Today. July 19, 2016. 21. Reporter, Nick Visser (July 19, 2016). "Director Garry Marshall Dead At 81" The Huffington Post. 22. "Past Recipients" Wif.org. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011. 23. "Garry Marshall, Legendary Hollywood Producer, Director and Writer, Dies at 81" 24. "Garry Marshall Inducted into NAB Hall of Fame" 25. "Writer-Producer-Director Garry Marshall to Receive 2014 WGAW Television Laurel Award" awards.wga.org. 26. Pedersen, Erik (July 20, 2016). "Garry Marshall Dies: 'Happy Days' Creator and 'Pretty Woman' Helmer Was 81"
Further reading Marshall, Garry (1995). Wake Me When It's Funny: How to Break into Show Business and Stay There. Newmarket Press. ISBN 1-55704-288-8.
Roger Perry (May 7, 1933 – July 12, 2018) was an American film and television actor whose career began in the late 1950s. He served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force during the early 1950s.
In the 1960–1961 television season, Perry portrayed attorney Jim Harrigan, Jr. in Harrigan and Son. He guest-starred on numerous American television series from the 1950s through the 1980s. His first television appearance was as Ted Jarvis in the 1958 episode "Paper Bullets" of the syndicated crime drama, U.S. Marshal. He appeared with James Coburn and John Dehner in the 1960 episode "Friend of the Family" of The Texan.[1] He co-starred in the 1963-1964 series Arrest and Trial as Detective Sergeant Dan Kirby.
In NBC's Star Trek episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (1967) he guested as a 20th century airforce pilot. Other television series in which he appeared include Emergency!, Love, American Style, The Andy Griffith Show, Ironside, The F.B.I., The Eleventh Hour, The Munsters, Barnaby Jones, The Facts of Life, Adam-12 and Falcon Crest.[2]
Perry starred in two American International Pictures (AIP) horror films featuring the vampire character, Count Yorga. In Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), he portrayed Dr. James Hayes, the protagonist who uncovers the true nature of Yorga (but is attacked and killed by Yorga's brides). However, Perry returned as a different lead character in the sequel, The Return of Count Yorga (1971), as Professor David Baldwin.[2]
Perry married actress/comedian Jo Anne Worley on May 11, 1975. They divorced in 2000 and had no children.
Perry later married actress Joyce Bulifant. In 2014 Perry and Bulifant were honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California.[3]
Perry died at age 85 on July 12, 2018, at his home in Indian Wells, California, from prostate cancer.[4]
References
1. "The Texan." Classic Television Archive. 2. Roger Perry on IMDb 3. Palm Springs Walk of Stars official website 4. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...
