Sherwood Schwartz

Infobox actor
name = Sherwood Schwartz


birthname = Sherwood Charles Schwartz
birthdate = birth date and age|1916|11|14
birthplace = Passaic, New Jersey
occupation = Television producer and screenwriter
emmyawards = Writing in a Comedy Series
1961 "The Red Skelton Show"
awards = Hollywood Walk of Fame
2008 Hollywood Boulevard

Sherwood Charles Schwartz (born November 14 1916) is an American television producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, and created the television series "Gilligan's Island" on CBS and "The Brady Bunch" on ABC. On March 7, 2008, Schwartz, still ebullient at ninety-one, was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [cite web | author= | title=Brady Bunch & Gilligan’s Island Creator Receives Hollywood Walk of Fame Star | url=http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/brady-bunch-gilligans-island-creator-receives-hollywood-walk-of-fame-star | publisher=TV Series Final | date=7 March 2008 | accessdate=2008-03-27]

Biography

Schwartz's entertainment career came "by accident". He relocated from New York to southern California to pursue a master of science degree in biology. In need of employment, he began writing jokes for Bob Hope's radio program, for which Schwartz's brother, Al Schwartz, worked. Schwartz recalled that Hope "liked my jokes, used them on his show and got big laughs. Then he asked me to join his writing staff. I was faced with a major decision — writing comedy or starving to death while I cured those diseases. I made a quick career change." [http://ap.lubbockonline.com/pstories/entertainment/20080307/254918604.shtml]

He went on to write for Ozzie Nelson's "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" and other radio shows.

He was a writer on the Armed Forces Radio Network before he got his big break in television

Filmography

Schwartz went on to create and produce "Gilligan's Island", starring Bob Denver, Alan Hale, and Dawn Wells, and "The Brady Bunch" with Florence Henderson and Robert Reed. He wrote the theme song for three of his shows: "Gilligan's Island" (co-wrote), "It's About Time", and "The Brady Bunch".

Wells and Henderson appeared with Schwartz as he received his Walk of Fame honor.

tage productions

On November 10, 2006, his play "Rockers" opened in Theater West in California.

In 1990, he wrote the play "" which is still in production to this day. His son Lloyd, daughter Hope, and son-in-law Laurence Juber worked on the play.

Unsold pilots

He wrote and Executive Produced these two pilots
*"Scamps" (1982) - Starring Bob Denver, Dreama Denver, and Joey Lawrence,
*"The Invisible Woman" (1983) - Starring Bob Denver, Alexa Hamilton, George Gobel, and Harvey Korman

He also was in the works of creating a pilot for Phil Silvers during the 1966-1967 television series called "The Help".

Awards

*Won the 1961 Emmy Award for his writing on "The Red Skelton Show".
*Was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his 2004 special "Still Brady After All These Years"
*On March 7, 2008, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

TV appearances

During the late 1990s and the 2000s, he has made many appearances on TV talking about his series, on shows such as the "CBS Evening News", "20/20", "TV Land's Top Ten" and A&E's "Biography". He also took part in a "Creators" marathon on Nick at Nite in the late 1990s. [cite web | last =The Associated Press | title=Sitcom producers pick favorites for Nick at Nite 15th anniversary| work=CNN| date =2000-07-28 | url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/28/nick.at.nite.ap.ap/ | accessdate=2007-06-09] He was also a guest at the 2004 TV Land Awards.

In 1988 Schwartz appeared on "The Late Show with Ross Shafer" for a "Gilligan's Island" reunion, along with all seven castaways from "Gilligan's Island". This was the last time they were all together on television; castaways Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Bob Denver, and Alan Hale, Jr. have since died.

Personal life

Schwartz was born in Passaic, New Jersey. He is Jewish.cite web | last=Bloom | first=Nate | title=The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs | publisher=InterfaithFamily.com | date=19 December 2006 | url=http://www.interfaithfamily.com/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ekLSK5MLIrG&b=297399&ct=3303147 | accessdate=2006-12-19]

In his 1988 book "Inside Gilligan's Island", he mentions he did not get along well with Red Skelton. In his early years as head writer it was in his contract that Schwartz would not have to meet face-to-face with Skelton. He named his daughter "Hope" after Bob Hope, whom he had good relations with. He is the father of Lloyd J. Schwartz, creator of "The Munsters Today".

References

External links

* [http://www.sherwoodschwartz.com/ SherwoodSchwartz.com]
* [http://www.bradyworld.com/cover/schwartz.htm Bio of Sherwood Schwartz]
*imdb|777442
*tv.com person
* [http://www.kruegerbooks.com/books/sig/schwartz-sherwood.html Signature of Sherwood Schwartz from Here on Gilligan's Isle]