Barbara Avedon

Barbara Avedon
Nationality American
Citizenship United States
Occupation Television writer
Known for Creating Cagney & Lacey with Barbara Corday

Barbara Avedon is a television writer, political activist,[1] and feminist.[2] She was one of the writers for the television series Bewitched, and helped a group of Jefferson High School students write the episode "Sisters at Heart".[3] She also wrote for Executive Suite[4] and Fish, a 1977-78 spin-off from Barney Miller.[5] With Barbara Corday, Avedon created Cagney & Lacey, the world's first dramatic television series to place women in both of its starring roles.[6] They came up with the idea for this television series after having read Molly Haskell's book From Reverence to Rape which stated that there had never been a female buddy film.[7] Avedon and Corday initially intended Cagney & Lacey to be a film.[8] While they were writing the series together, Avedon was more experienced and proficient in screenwriting than Corday, and Avedon mentored Corday in this area throughout the series.[9] They were best friends for nearly a decade.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Horace Newcomb, ed. (2014). Encyclopedia of Television (2 ed.). Routledge. p. 600. ISBN 1135194793.
  2. ↑ Geraldine Harris (2006). Beyond Representation: Television Drama and the Politics and Aesthetics of Identity. Manchester University Press. p. 41. ISBN 1847791727.
  3. ↑ William D. Crump (2001). The Christmas Encyclopedia (3 ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 38. ISBN 1476605734.
  4. ↑ William Puette (1992). Through Jaundiced Eyes: How the Media View Organized Labor. Cornell University Press. p. 176. ISBN 0875461859.
  5. ↑ Vincent Terrace (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials 2. VNR AG. p. 144. ISBN 0918432618.
  6. ↑ Julie D'Acci (1992). Lynn Spigel, Denise Mann, ed. "Defining Women: The Case of Cagney and Lacey". Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer (University of Minnesota Press): 170. ISBN 0816620539.
  7. ↑ Syd Field (2009). Selling a Screenplay: The Screenwriter's Guide to Hollywood. Random House. p. 148. ISBN 0307570649.
  8. ↑ Elana Levine (2007). Wallowing in Sex: The New Sexual Culture of 1970s American Television. Duke University Press. p. 282. ISBN 0822339196.
  9. ↑ Ellen A. Ensher; Susan E. Murphy (2011). Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Proteges Get the Most Out of Their Relationships. John Wiley & Sons. p. 59. ISBN 1118046870.
  10. ↑ Warren G. Bennis (2003). On Becoming a Leader. Da Capo Press. p. 85. ISBN 0738208175.