After bringing us some of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, Dale McRaven passed away on September 5, 2022 at the age of 83. Said he son of him, David McRaven The Hollywood reporter That the creator of Mork and Mindy Y Perfect strangers died of complications from cancer lung at his home in Porter Ranch, California.
McRaven was born on March 5, 1939 in Pulaski, Illinois, the fifth of six children. He lived with his family in Chicago and Phoenix before moving to Hollywood in 1957.
Upon arrival, he sold a script to Steve Allen, but his first major job came in 1964 when he was hired by Gary Marshall -together with Carl Kleinschmidt- to write the last season of Joey Bishop’s show on NBC.
After the show ended, the duo would write for The Dick Van Dyke show and he would win a WGA award for his work before continuing to write a series of shows like ours famously Super agent 86, Gomer Pyle: USMC, Hey, Landlord, Good Morning World, and The Odd Couple.
However, McRaven’s greatest successes came after he and Kleinschmidt separated to pursue separate projects. It was then that a traveling family band, an alien and a pair of quirky cousins took his career to new heights.
nanu! nanu!
Now without a partner, alone, McRaven has written 15 episodes of The Pernice family from 1970 to 1973 while producing albums for the band, which included Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Danny Bonaduce and Susan Dey on the show.
Following the ABC after this concert, he also created The Texas Wheelersa short-lived sitcom featured Gary Busey and Mark Hamill. Although it only lasted eight episodes, it was rumored to be the favorite show of the writer and producer he created.
Having acquired a flair for creating shows, he once again teamed up with Gary Marshall to create Angie, with Donna Pascow and Robert Hays. The extraordinary producer Marshall convinced McRaven in 1978 to do so to co-create a spin-off of Happy days with Joe Glauberg, centered on the Ork alien who tried to kidnap Richie Cunningham.
road to fame
Mork and Mindy it became a smash hit during its four seasons and launched the then unknown Robin Williams to stardom.
McRaven will keep the successes in 1986 when he created Perfect strangersa sitcom starring Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot about two cousins from different countries living in a Chicago apartment.
The series would run for eight seasons with a total of 150 episodes, even after its creator stepped away from day-to-day operations and continued to provide script notes.
route change
With 36 years in show business, McRaven moved away in the mid-1990s to devote himself to photography and digital art. He would also start a family of his own which includes his son David, his daughter Renee and his grandchildren.
However, his contributions to the world of television will never be forgotten, as fans can, as Mork says in the series finale, “see the heat, see the love, see someone who makes me feel like I’m important in this vast universe”. every time they come back to visit us.
Source: Clarin
