Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Remembering Sherwood Schwartz, Creator of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch; MeTV Network's 'M*A*S*H On Me' Stunt
Sherwood Schwartz, writer and creator of two beloved sitcoms from the 1960s and 1970s, Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch, has died. He passed away peacefully in his sleep of natural causes at 4 a.m. Tuesday, July 12, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he was being treated for an intestinal infection and underwent several surgeries. Mr. Schwartz was 94.
Schwartz's entertainment career began as a writer of jokes for Bob Hope's radio program, The Bob Hope Show, in 1939. He would go on to write for other radio programs in the 1940s, including The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Alan Young Show. His television career began as a writer for I Married Joan, The Red Skelton Show (winning an Emmy Award in 1961) and My Favorite Martian. In 1964, he created Gilligan's Island, which starred Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. The show followed the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive and ultimately escape from the island where they were shipwrecked. Although the show aired for only 3 seasons and 98 episodes on CBS from 1964-1967, it became a cult classic in syndication. Two animated series (The New Adventures of Gilligan and Gilligan's Planet) and three TV reunion movies (Rescue from Gilligan's Island, The Castaways on Gilligan's Island and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island) were later produced. In 1966, he created the science fiction sitcom It's About Time, which dealt with two astronauts being sent back into prehistoric days.
His next big success came with The Brady Bunch. The 1969-74 ABC sitcom starred Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, Susan Olsen and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family when a widow with three daughters marries a widower with three sons. Although the show was never a huge ratings or critical hit during its original primetime run, it became a cultural phenomenon in syndication over the years. The success of the show would lead to the animated series The Brady Kids, a variety series called The Brady Bunch Hour, the TV movie The Brady Girls Get Married and TV series The Brady Brides, A Very Brady Christmas TV movie, the TV dramedy The Bradys, and two theatrical movies. Schwartz's other television writing, creating and producing credits included Dusty's Trail (starring Bob Denver), Big John, Little John, Harper Valley PTA and Together We Stand. On March 7, 2008, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Mr. Schwartz is survived by his wife of 69 years, Mildred Schwartz and their four children: sons Donald, Lloyd, Ross Schwartz, and daughter Hope Juber. You can watch an extensive interview with him from September 17, 1997 at The Archive of American Television. Read his farewell letter to family and fans here. We'll keep you posted if any tributes are planned. We thank him for entertaining us and bringing us so much laughter over the years. His iconic shows and those memorable theme songs will live forever. He will be greatly missed.
MeTV Network is deploying a special evening of "M*A*S*H on Me" this Sunday (July 17, 2011) saluting one of the best series produced for television. Beginning at 7/6c, five episodes from the iconic medical war series, including the pilot episode, will air. The movie, which started it all, will air at 8/7c. The episodes airing are: "Comrades in Arms (Part 1)," "Comrades in Arms (Part 2)," the feature film of M*A*S*H, "Pilot Episode," "Henry, Please Come Home" and "Abyssinia, Henry."
The TV series M*A*S*H regularly airs on MeTV Network weeknights at 7/6c and 10/9c, along with airings on Saturdays at 7/6c and Sundays at 7/6c and 11/10c.
To get ready for this mini-marathon, watch the promo.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, October 4
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 30)
Friday, October 4
- Halle Berry (Living Dolls) - Watch Halle on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Will Ferrell (The Office) - Will and Harper Steele (Will & Harper) are guests on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Kristen Bell (Nobody Wants This/Central Park/The Good Place) - Kristen appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) - Tien is a guest on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Sarah Paulson (Leap of Faith) - Sarah can be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
- George Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez/Lopez/Saint George/George Lopez) and Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - NBC's Today catches up with George and Mayan in the 10am hour.
- Paul Scheer (Black Monday/Fresh Off the Boat/The League) - Paul is telling Drew all about his new memoir and answering questions from his wife June Diane Raphael on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Niecy Nash-Betts (Reno 911!/Getting On/The Soul Man/Do Not Disturb) - Niecy talks about the highly-anticipated premiere of Grotesquerie on FX on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Deon Cole (grown-ish/Angie Tribeca/black-ish) - Deon sits down to chat about his new comedy special and touring with Martin Lawrence on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Nathan Lane (Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Yvette Nicole Brown (Act Your Age/The Odd Couple/Community/The Big House) - Yvette guest co-hosts The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
- John Stamos (UnPrisoned/Fuller House/Grandfathered/Jake in Progress/Full House/You, Again?) - John talks about his memoir If You Would Have Told Me on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Victoria Justice (Victorious/Zoey 101/) - Victoria discusses her film Depravity on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT and on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Paul Reiser (Mad About You/Red Oaks/Married/My Two Dads) - Paul is a guest on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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