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Obituaries from page 67
Creator Of Sitcoms With
A 'Deeper Significance'
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T
V writer and producer
Sherwood Schwartz, whose
contributions to the world
of sitcoms included the classic
series Gilligan's Island and The
Brady Bunch, died July 12, 2011, at
age 94.
The shows never received critical
acclaim but went on to become cul-
tural icons that spawned follow-up
movies, theatrical productions and
tell-all books by their former stars
and more.
Both managed to reverberate in
viewers' heads through the years as
few such series did, lingering in the
language and inspiring parodies,
spinoffs and countless stand-up
comedy jokes, one writer said after
Schwartz died.
Gilligan's Island ran only three
seasons, from 1964 to 1967, but was
revived in three TV movies, a chil-
dren's cartoon and a reality show.
The Brady Bunch lasted five seasons,
from 1969 to 1974, and was followed
by three one-season spinoffs, a live
production of the show's episodes
and two films.
Schwartz, in his own memoir of
Brady, as well as in others' memoirs
in which he was quoted, claimed a
deeper significance for each show
than as critically derided "gag-
ridden corn" (Gilligan) or "a sugar-
coated view of American family life"
(Brady).
Schwartz said that Gilligan's Island
was really "a metaphor for the nations
of the world, and their purpose was
to show how the nations of the world
have to get along together or cease to
exist:'
Schwartz was quoted as saying
that such a description drew an out-
burst by CBS President Bill Paley and
almost cost him the show.
But Schwartz insisted "it was a
microcosm. I mean, here's a show
about a group of people who have
absolutely nothing in common,
forced to live together and work
hard toward a common goal of
survival. That's the philosophy of
the show.
"Of course, we buried that mes-
sage under a lot of pratfalls and
bamboo and silly stuff, but I used
to get a lot of mail from psychia-
trists and philosophers who under-
stood it."
As for The Brady Bunch, Schwartz
said he was inspired in 1965 by an
article that described the growth
of "blended" families in America:
"Times were changing, and that one
little newspaper item was all it took
to provide that 'Eureka' moment that
inspired me to create a new kind of
TV family — a family that America
was not only ready for, but maybe
even needed."
Schwartz was born in Passaic, N.J.,
and grew up in Brooklyn. His broth-
er, who was working for Bob Hope,
got him a job as a writer.
Schwartz wrote comedies and pro-
grams for Armed Forces Radio dur-
ing World War II before becoming
a staff writer for the original radio
version of The Adventures of Ozzie
and Harriet.
He then became head writer of
The Red Skelton Show, for which he,
his brother and two others won an
Emmy award.
The movie and TV website IMDB
has a full resume of Schwartz's
writing, producing and songwrit-
ing, which included co-writing the
famous theme songs for both Brady
and Gilligan.
Schwartz received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008.
He was married to his wife for 69
years.
Obituaries on page 70
68 July 28 2011
Obituaries