“Mary Tyler Moore Show” author was 91 years old

Bob Ellison

Courtesy of Ken Levine

Bob Ellison, the two-time Emmy winner who wrote for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and served as a pioneering creative/script consultant at Bottom up, wing, Becker and many other comedies, has died. He was 91.

He died April 8 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said his chief executive, Malcolm Orland The Hollywood Reporter. “He was a sweetheart and so good at what he did,” Orland said.

Ellison came from the world of variety shows, where he wrote and/or produced several specials with Julie Andrews and Burt Bacharach. He also co-created the NBC sitcom from 1988 to 1992 Dear Johnwith Judd Hirsch.

Ellison wrote 15 episodes and was executive editor for the final two episodes The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s seven seasons (from 1975-77). He shared an Emmy with Allan Burns, James L. Brooks, Ed. Weinberger, Stan Daniels and David Lloyd for the popular series finale “The Last Show.”

The unheralded Ellison was a consultant on another legendary sitcom, NBC’s Bottom up, for the last seven seasons (1986–93); on NBC wing for the last four years (1993-97); and on CBS Becker for the last five seasons (1999–2004).

He performed similar tasks for Caroline in the city, Andy controls the universe, bob, Amen, Angie, The best from the West And Mister President.

“He was always positive, always funny, and always brought new energy to every writing session.” Becker Creator Dave Hackel narrated THR. (They worked together on Dear John And wing as well as.)

What exactly does a creative consultant do? They “come in one day a week with a problematic script, go to a run-through and a reading and figure out what the problems are and try to fix them. Sometimes it’s about jokes that don’t work,” he told fellow comedy writer Ken Levine in a 2019 episode Hollywood & Levine Podcast.

“You always have to assume that the answer is in the air. You just have to wait, know when it’s coming and grab it. You can’t go in and say it’s impossible, you can’t find it, you’ll never get it.”

During an impressive period he worked six shows a week.

Robert Ellison was born on February 25, 1933 in New York. He graduated from LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and began his show business career as a trombonist in the Catskills. He often had a joke for the stand-up with whom he shared the nightclub bill.

Ellison once wrote something about the TV show Ben Casey for a comic and received $68.80 for it, a sum with which he was able to cover the cost of an Olivetti typewriter he had just purchased. This gave his career a new direction and he wrote for Tony Bennett, Pat Henry and many others.

He continued working The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, The Dom DeLuise Show and the Robert Morse lead role That’s life Then in the 1960s he was hired for specials hosted by artists such as Andrews, Bacharach, Alan King, Bing Crosby, Petula Clark, Jackie Gleason, Mac Davis and Richard Pryor.

Ellison received his first Emmy for a 1971 Bacharach special and was also nominated for his screenplay for The Bacharach The Kraft Music Hall this year, Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center (that would be Andrews and Carol Burnett) in 1972 and The Julie Andrews Hour in 1973.

He was working on it Mary Tyler Moore Spin-offs Rhoda And Phyllis and produced The Betty White Showeverything also for MTM Enterprises.

Survivors include his wife, Elaine. They had no children.

Levine also wrote to Ellison Bottom up, Becker and other comedies and brought him in as an assistant Big Wave Dave’s, the 1993 CBS sitcom he co-created with David Isaacs. “When David and I had a show on the air, our first call was always to you,” Levine told him on the podcast.

Ellison recalled a time when an ABC executive, who had two “stooges” with him, saw a run-through of a sketch he had written. “My Midwestern asshole tells me this isn’t funny,” the guy told Ellison. “I said, ‘Who is that?'”