Sherwood Schwartz died early this morning. He was 94. Schwartz was a prolific sitcom producer having created, of course, Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch. He was one of Bob Hope's key writers in the nineteen forties and crafted gags for mostly forgotten programs like The Alan Young Show, Beulah, I Married Joan and It's About Time. Someone gave me his home phone number a couple of months ago. I called and he was incredibly gracious with his time. He did not have to be, seeing as how I was a total stranger disturbing him at home. I would have liked to have interviewed him for a longer period of time, but an elderly throat kept him from speaking beyond forty minutes. At one point he announced with amusing self-awareness, "I don't know if you know this, but... I'm pretty old."
At any rate, it was a pleasure to speak with the man responsible for more hours of campy television than probably anyone else in the history of the business. Here is Sherwood Schwartz's final interview.
Thanks for this, Kliph. Your posts are always a treasure. Rest in Peace, Mr. Schwartz.
Posted by: Hell's Donut House | July 18, 2011 at 12:30 AM