Everett Greenbaum

Everett Greenbaum
Born December 20, 1919
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Died July 11, 1999 (aged 79)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation TV and film screenwriter and actor
Years active 1953-1987
Spouse(s) Deana Ward, (?-1999, his death)
Children 1 daughter

Everett Greenbaum (December 20, 1919 – July 11, 1999) was an American television and film writer and actor who contributed to such shows as The Andy Griffith Show (24 Episodes), Mash (35 Episodes), The Love Boat, The Real McCoys (32 Episodes), Sanford and Son, and The George Gobel Show. Greenbaum was a co-creator with Jim Fritzell of Mister Peepers an important early television show which starred Wally Cox. He wrote the Hollywood feature films The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), The Reluctant Astronaut (1967), and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966); all of which starred Don Knotts.

Life and career

Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Greenbaum studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Sorbonne in Paris. He then moved to New York City in the mid-1930s to try his luck as a writer, eventually finding employment in radio, writing continuity for a series starring the Canadian folk singer Oscar Brand.[1]

After serving as a naval aviator and flight instructor in the Marshall Islands during World War II, Greenbaum returned to New York City, this time seeking work as a television writer. With Jim Fritzell, he collaborated on scripts for the TV series Mr. Peepers (1952), a stylish sitcom starring Wally Cox as a timid small-town science teacher; it also gave Tony Randall his first important role. When the series was cancelled, NBC-TV received over 10,000 letters of protest. A month later Mr. Peepers returned, running for three years and winning a Peabody Award.[2]

In a 22-year partnership, Greenbaum and Fritzell also won three Writers' Guild awards and four Emmy nominations, and collaborated on more than 150 scripts. These included the Walter Brennan sitcom The Real McCoys (1957–62), The Andy Griffith Show (1960–68) and M*A*S*H, on which they worked for five years, contributing 35 episodes. On his own, Greenbaum wrote two books, including the memoir The Goldenberg Who Couldn't Dance, and worked on The George Gobel Show. He also acted in brief roles on Griffith's ``Matlock series and other programs.[3][4]

Greenbaum died at the age of 79 in Los Angeles, California; he was survived by his wife Deana, and a daughter, Billie.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Max Wilk (1989), The Golden Age of Television: Notes from the Survivors, Moyer Bell, ISBN 978-1-55921-000-3
  2. ↑ Richard Michael Kelly (1981), The Andy Griffith Show, John F. Blair, Publisher, pp. 113–, ISBN 978-0-89587-043-8
  3. ↑ Everett Greenbaum:Obituary, by Dick Vosburgh, for The Independent (UK), August 5, 1999, accessed May 27, 2013.
  4. ↑ Tom Stempel (1996), Storytellers to the Nation: A History of American Television Writing, Syracuse University Press, pp. 109–, ISBN 978-0-8156-0368-9
  5. ↑ "Everett Greenbaum, 79, Comedy Writer". New York Times. July 20, 1999. Retrieved 20 April 2015.

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