I made most of my living writing for TV from the late fifties up until the early nineties. I've written comedy series, variety shows, specials and pilots. I honestly can't remember all of the shows I wrote. Some of them I probably want to forget. But for the most part I was very lucky and had a pretty nice time and fortunately worked with some very terrific people so I don't have too many television horror stories. I particularly loved working with Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Jim Nabors, Alan King, The Smothers Brothers and Tim Conway.
It was much easier being a writer in the early days of television because there wasn't the big money involved in a show like there is today. There were less people to deal with and most of the stuff I wrote got on the air with very little rewriting. There were only three networks and the ratings for a show were much higher. Strangely enough, there were more people watching a flop show at that time than there are seeing many of the hit shows today.
As more fortunes seemed to be at stake, the environment began to change. More people became involved with notes and opinions and insecurities and when your script finally showed up on the air there was hardly anything left of it.
Sometime after 1990 I decided I had enough of the television industry and decided to devote the rest of my life writing plays. A decision I never regretted.
Listed below are just a few of the many shows I worked on. Most of them were on the air before many of you were born. I think some of them were on the air before I was born.
The Andy Griffith Show
Bewitched
The Bill Dana Show
Captain Kangaroo
The Diana Rigg Show
The Don Ho Summer Show
The Flintstones
Get Smart
Gomer Pyle, USMC
Good Morning World
The Hero
The Kraft Music Hall
Marty Tyler Moore Special
On Our Own
The Paul Lynde Show
Saved By The Bell
The Smother's Brother's Comedy Hour
The Tim Conway Comedy