Cause of death Natural causes Years active 1938–2011 | Name Sherwood Schwartz Role Television producer | |
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Full Name Sherwood Charles Schwartz Children Donald (b. May 26, 1943)Lloyd (b. May 2, 1946)Ross Schwartz (b. August 9, 1949)Hope Juber (b. 30 March 1956) Died July 12, 2011, Los Angeles, California, United States Spouse Mildred Seidman (m. 1941–2011) Movies and TV shows | ||
Sherwood schwartz company paramount television 1988
Sherwood Charles Schwartz (November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was 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, at the time still active in his 90s, was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That same year, Schwartz was also inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
Contents
- Sherwood schwartz company paramount television 1988
- The writer speaks sherwood schwartz part 1
- Life and career
- TV appearances
- Personal life
- Death
- Filmography
- Stage productions
- Unsold pilots
- Awards
- Quotes
- References
The writer speaks sherwood schwartz part 1
Life and career
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."
He went on to write for Ozzie Nelson's The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and other radio shows. Schwartz was a writer on the Armed Forces Radio Network before he got his break in television. He went on to create and produce Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch. He wrote the theme song for three of his shows: Gilligan's Island (co-wrote), It's About Time, and The Brady Bunch.
Syndication turned his two major successes into TV institutions with cultural relevance. He made them icons, and as a result he became a television icon.
TV appearances
During the late 1990s and the 2000s, he 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. 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. He also appeared as himself in a 1995 episode of Roseanne titled "Sherwood Schwartz, A Loving Tribute", which also featured the four surviving "Gilligan's Island" cast members.
Personal life
Schwartz was born in Passaic, New Jersey to a Jewish family. His parents were Herman and Rose Schwartz. He was a younger brother of writer Al Schwartz. His younger brother, Elroy Schwartz (1923-2013), a comedy writer, became a principal screenwriter for Gilligan's Island and other series. Sherwood Schwartz is the uncle of Douglas Schwartz, Bruce Schwartz and Judithe Randall.
On 23 December 1941 Sherwood Schwartz married Mildred Seidman and together they had four children: Donald Schwartz, who became an ophthalmologist, Lloyd J. Schwartz, who worked with his father and in show business, Ross Schwartz, who became an attorney, and Hope Juber, a writer and producer.
Sherwood Schwartz's play, Rockers, a comedy-drama had a production at Theatre West in honor of his 90th birthday.
Death
On July 12, 2011, Sherwood Schwartz died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes. He was survived by his wife, Mildred Schwartz and their four children: Donald, Lloyd (the creator of The Munsters Today), Ross, and Hope (wife of Laurence Juber; reportedly named after Bob Hope). He was also survived by nine grandchildren as well as five great-grandchildren. He was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.
Filmography
Schwartz produced a number of radio and TV shows during his career.
Stage productions
On November 10, 2006, his play Rockers opened in Theater West in California. In 1990, he wrote Gilligan's Island: The Musical, still in production as of 2011. His son Lloyd, daughter Hope, and son-in-law Laurence Juber worked on the play as well.
Unsold pilots
He wrote and executive produced two unsold television pilots:
Awards
Quotes
"It's one world, and we all have to learn to live with each other."