George Richard Yanok (November 29, 1938 – April 29, 2022) was an American screenwriter,

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and jazz drummer. He is noted for winning Primetime Emmy Awards in 1974 and 1976.

Early life

Yanok was born in

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. As of the 2020 census, th ...

, on November 29, 1938. His family moved to

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

, when he was around twelve. He attended

Pomona Catholic High School Pomona Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic, co-ed middle school and all-girls high school in Pomona, California, established in 1898. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It is a part of the tri-school comm ...

, where he was classmates with John Stewart. Yanok then studied at Santa Clara University and

San Jose State College San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

before joining the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Career

Yanok first worked in stand-up comedy at the

hungry i The hungry i was a nightclub in San Francisco, California, originally located in the North Beach neighborhood. It played a major role in the history of stand-up comedy in the United States. It was launched by Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, who sold i ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and was an actor in theatre. He also toured with Stewart and

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

, becoming their final road manager and the editor of ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...

'', the group's last album. Yanok eventually secured writing gigs with the shows ''

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' was an American music and comedy television variety show hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 29, 1969, to June 13, 1972, on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for ' ...

'' and '' The Jimmie Rodgers Show'' in 1969, and was one of the inaugural writers of ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...

'' when it debuted that same year. He went on to produce ''

The Kallikaks ''The Kallikaks'' is an American sitcom television series starring David Huddleston which centers around a family from Appalachia that moves to California to run a decrepit gasoline station. The show aired from August 3 to August 31, 1977 on NB ...

'', which ran for five episodes as a

mid-season replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a ...

in August 1977. Yanok won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy, Variety or Music and Outstanding Comedy Series in 1974 and 1976, in recognition of his work on ''

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

'' and ''Lily Tomlin''. He also received two nominations, one of which was for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1976 for his work on ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the seri ...

''. Yanok relocated from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, during the 1990s to serve as writer, producer, and director of '' Prime Time Country''. During his time there, he was co-writer of the IMAX film ''Twang'', researcher for ''

Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtr ...

'', and teacher of television writing at Watkins College of Art and Screenwriters University. He was also involved with the Nashville Jazz Workshop as a drummer for its classic jazz ensembles and vocal classes during the organization's nascent years. Yanok later published his first novel in 2017, titled ''Romeo in Shubert Alley''.

Personal life

Yanok was married to

Jane Wagner Jane Wagner (born February 26, 1935) is an American writer, director and producer. She is Lily Tomlin's comedy writer, collaborator and wife. She is the author of '' The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'', ''The Incredible S ...

, who was one of the co-recipients of the two Emmys he won. He later married Laura Hill, and remained married to her for twenty years until his death. He had two stepchildren from his marriage to Hill: John and Katie. Yanok died on April 29, 2022, in Nashville. He was 83 and suffered from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in the 18 months leading up to his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yanok, George 1938 births 2022 deaths American male screenwriters American television producers Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Male actors from Connecticut Musicians from Connecticut People from Bristol, Connecticut Primetime Emmy Award winners Writers from Connecticut Santa Clara University alumni San Jose State University alumni