Chris Bearde (June 18, 1936 – April 23, 2017) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-born comedy writer, producer and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

best known for his work as a writer on ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...

'' and for co-writing and producing television specials for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

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Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

, Jim Carrey, Andy Williams,

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

, Diana Ross, and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...

. He also created the format for the original ''

Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1 ...

'' and a number of network and pay-cable comedy series including '' That's My Mama'' and ''Sherman Oaks''.

Early career

Bearde's career started in the 1950s in his adopted home, Sydney, Australia. After working in radio and serving two years in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

, at age 23 he became host of the children's television series ''Smalltime''. His appearances in this show and his writing for other Australian comedy shows was recognised by visiting

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and American producers, and Bearde was contracted by the Canadian commercial network CTV to write a comedy series in the early 1960s, entitled ''Network''. He created two shows for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, ''Front and Centre'' and Canada's first late night

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where s ...

show ''Nightcap''.

Move to Hollywood

After four years of working in Canadian radio and television, Bearde was signed by the

William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ag ...

and moved to Hollywood. There he created formats for several specials for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and ABC. Bearde's method of combining slapstick and political satire made him a resident writer on the original ''

''. While working with the producer of ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'',

George Schlatter George Schlatter (born December 31, 1932) is an American television producer and director, best known for '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' and founder of the American Comedy Awards. For his work on television, Schlatter has a star on the Hollywo ...

, Bearde created the formats for specials, including

's ''Like Hep!'' (1969), and

The Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. In 1968, he formed a partnership with Canadian producer Allan Blye and they created the format for the 1968 TV special '' Singer Presents... Elvis'' (the ''"'68 Comeback Special"'') for producer Bob Finkel and director Steve Binder. Bearde and Blye co-produced several specials for Andy Williams and produced two years of ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

'' from 1969 to 1971. Blye and Bearde also created a summer series, ''The Who Is Ray Stevens Show'', which featured the first appearance of

. Blye and Bearde also created and produced one of the first black situation comedies, '' That's My Mama'', for ABC. After splitting with Blye, Bearde created the format of — and produced with Chuck Barris — ''

The Bobby Vinton Show ''The Bobby Vinton Show'' was a Canadian musical variety television series produced for the CTV Television Network between 1975 and 1978, with a total of 52 episodes broadcast. Featuring Bobby Vinton, a best-selling popular music singer since the ...

'' and the first major breakthrough talent

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

show, ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to ...

''. Although Bearde later sold his interest in the 1970s version of the program to Barris, Bearde's company produced a one-season revival of the show in 1988. He also produced ''The Bob Hope Christmas Show'' and returned to Australia to produce ''Texaco Presents Bob Hope in Australia''. Bearde formed a partnership with ex-CBS president Robert Wood and created pilots and a children's series, ''The W.A.C.K.O. Show'', for CBS. Bearde directed a comedy film called '' Hysterical'', released in 1983, starring The Hudson Brothers. Bearde formed a long-term partnership with

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

and produced ''The Half Hour Comedy Hour'', which featured the first national appearance of

Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', '' Com ...

as a host. Clark and Bearde co-produced Bearde's

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

hit series '' Puttin' on the Hits'' in 1985. Bearde formed a co-production partnership with Vin Di Bona, the producer of ''

America's Funniest Home Videos ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on ABC, based on the Japanese variety show ''Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan''. The show featur ...

''. He created and produced HBO's cult series satirizing television news ''Night Rap'' and Showtime's comedy hit ''Sherman Oaks''. Di Bona and Bearde also produced several specials for CBS.

Move to Las Vegas

In 2005, Bearde moved his operation to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and created and trademarked "Chris Bearde's International Comedy Hall of Fame", a entertainment retail restaurant and comedy tribute exhibition complex, currently in the design and planning stages. Each year there are several Comedy Awards and Induction Ceremony TV specials included in the package. Bearde has received an Emmy Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award. The Chris Bearde School of Comedy was founded in Las Vegas in 2007 and moved to Los Angeles in 2008. The school is still in operation.

Death

Bearde died at his home in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

of a cardiac arrest on 23 April 2017 at the age of 80. He is survived by his wife Carolyn Stonecloud, 6 children, 2 step children and 7 grandchildren.

References

External links

Interview with Chris Bearde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bearde, Chris Australian comedy writers Australian television producers Australian television directors Australian screenwriters Australian expatriates in the United States Emmy Award winners Writers Guild of America Award winners People from Richmond, London 1936 births 2017 deaths