Sherwood Schwartz | |
|---|---|
 Schwartz receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2008) | |
| Born | Sherwood Charles Schwartz November 14, 1916 Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | July 12, 2011 (aged 94) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, California |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1938–2011 |
| Spouse |
Mildred Seidman (m. 1941) |
| Children | 4, including Lloyd |
Sherwood Charles Schwartz (/ʃwɔːrts/; November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was an American television screenwriter and producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, but he now is best known for creating the 1960s 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.[1] That same year, Schwartz was also inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.[2]
Schwartz was born in Passaic, New Jersey, to a Jewish family.[3] 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.[4] Sherwood Schwartz is the uncle of Douglas Schwartz (who created the Baywatch TV series), Bruce Schwartz and Judithe Randall.
Schwartz had hoped to become a doctor, but found that he was unable to be admitted to medical school at that time, due to a quota limiting the number of Jewish students.[5][6]
He went on to write for Ozzie Nelson's The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and other radio shows. Schwartz served in the United States Army for over four years. While serving, he was a writer on the Armed Forces Radio Network before he got his break in television. From 1956 to 1962, Schwartz was head writer for The Red Skelton Show, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1961. 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 became a television icon himself.[7]
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.[8] 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.
On December 21, 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 in show business as a writer and producer in his own right; Ross Schwartz, who became an attorney; and Hope Juber, a writer and producer. His granddaughter is singer-songwriter Ilsey Juber, the daughter of Hope and guitarist Laurence Juber, the former lead guitarist for the band Wings.
Sherwood Schwartz's play, Rockers, a comedy-drama, had a production at Theatre West in honor of his 90th birthday.
On July 12, 2011, Sherwood Schwartz died of natural causes in his sleep.[9]
Schwartz was portrayed by Aaron Lustig in the TV movie Surviving Gilligan's Island and by Michael Tucker in Growing Up Brady.
Schwartz produced a number of radio and TV shows during his career.
| Series | Years | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The Bob Hope Show | 1938–1942 | Writer for radio version |
| The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | 1940s | Writer for radio version |
| The Alan Young Show | 1940s | Writer for radio version |
| I Married Joan | 1952–1955 | Writer |
| The Red Skelton Show | 1956–1962 | Writer |
| My Favorite Martian | 1963 | Script supervisor |
| Gilligan's Island | 1964–1967 | Writer, creator, producer |
| It's About Time | 1966–1967 | Writer, creator, producer |
| The Brady Bunch | 1969–1974 | Writer, creator, producer |
| Dusty's Trail | 1973–1974 | Writer, creator, producer |
| Big John, Little John | 1976 | Producer |
| Harper Valley PTA | 1981–1982 | Writer, producer |
| Together We Stand | 1986–1987 | Writer, producer |
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.[citation needed]
On November 10, 2006, his play Rockers opened in Theatre West in California. The play concerns the lives of three women living in a retirement home. The cast included Pat Crawford Brown, Lee Meriwether, and Elsa Raven.
He wrote and executive produced two unsold television pilots:
