Jack Hanrahan (January 16, 1933 – April 28, 2008) was an American comedy writer.

Biography

Born January 16, 1933, in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, he began writing cartoons for the '' Cleveland Press''. After that, he moved on to

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

and continued his writing career with work on ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...

''. Then, in 1968, he won an Emmy for his work 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 ...

''. Following this, he moved on to ''

Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

'', ''

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was ...

'', '' Police Woman'', ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

'', and ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

''. In the 1980s and '90s, he worked on a scattering of television shows and movies, including co-writing the ''

Super Mario World ''Super Mario World,'' known in Japan as is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 19 ...

'' episode "The Wheel Thing" and serving as one of four writers for the second season (1985–86) of the cartoon series ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

'', as well as writing & co-writing shorts for the 1980 revival of ''

Tom & Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

''. Hanrahan teamed-up for a while with Eleanor Burian-Mohr and wrote for many animation shows. He also co-starred in the motion picture 'Up Your Alley' in 1988 for writer/director, Bob Logan. Hanrahan left

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

for

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

in northern California in 1992. After losing his wife in 2004, he was stricken with grief. He would still entertain at charity events and retirement homes but never found his way back to happiness. In 2006, he was evicted following a garage fire and all of his possessions, including his Emmy, were seized by his landlord. He began to wander the streets. Jack Riley, an old friend, tried to help Hanrahan, but was unsuccessful. After friends in Eureka bought him a bus ticket, he returned to his hometown of Cleveland, where he remained homeless until his death. Hanrahan was featured on the front page of ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' (

) on March 22, 2007, detailing his homelessness. He died on April 28, 2008.

Screenwriting credits

Television

* series head writer denoted in bold *''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' (1965) *'' Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles'' (1966) *''

Birdman and the Galaxy Trio ''Birdman and the Galaxy Trio'', or simply ''Birdman'' or ''The Galaxy Trio'', is an American animated television series by Hanna-Barbera Productions that debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, and ran on Saturday mornings until September 6, 1969. ...

'' (1967) *'' Fantastic Four'' (1967) *''

'' (1967-1968) *'' Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In'' (1968) *''

The Banana Splits ''The Banana Splits'' is an American television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes. ...

'' (1968-1970) *''

Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intui ...

'' (1969-1977) *''

The Mouse Factory ''The Mouse Factory'' is an American syndicated television series produced by Walt Disney Productions and created by Ward Kimball, that ran from 1972 to 1973. It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies, hosted by celebrity guests (cre ...

'' (1972) *''

Bridget Loves Bernie ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' is an American sitcom created by Bernard Slade. Depicting an interfaith marriage between a Catholic woman and a Jewish man, ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' was based loosely on the premise of the 1920s Broadway play and 1940s ra ...

'' (1973) *'' Gibbsville'' (1976) *''

Dinky Dog ''Dinky Dog'' is a Saturday-morning animated series produced by the Australian division of Hanna-Barbera, which aired on CBS from September 9, 1978, to September 5, 1981. It was Hanna-Barbera's first show created and produced in Australia. ''Din ...

'' (1978) *''

The All-New Popeye Hour ''The All New Popeye Hour'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and King Features Entertainment. Starring the comic strip character Popeye, the series aired from 1978 to 1983 Saturday mornings on CBS. D ...

'' (1978) *''

Sport Billy ''Sport Billy'' is a 1980 animated television cartoon made by Filmation Associates, initially for broadcast in Germany. The series was a single 26 episode saga that premiered in Germany and other parts of Europe from 1980 to 1981. In 1982, Filma ...

'' (1980-1981) *''

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show ''The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show'' (also known as ''The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry'') is an American animated television program produced by Filmation for MGM Television featuring the popular cartoon duo Tom and Jerry. The show first aired on ...

'' (1980) *'' Heathcliff'' (1980) *'' Spider-Man'' (1981-1982) * '' Heathcliff'' (1984, 1986) *'' Yogi’s Treasure Hunt'' (1985) *''

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...

'' (1985) *''

'' (1985-1986) *'' Dennis the Menace'' (1986) *''

Popples Popples is a toy and television franchise created by Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), a subsidiary of American Greetings. Popples resemble brightly colored marsupial teddy bears with long tails ending in a pom-pom. Each Popple character ...

'' (1986) *''

Beverly Hills Teens ''Beverly Hills Teens'' is an American animation, animated children's television program produced by DIC Entertainment, DIC Animation City. Distributed by Access Syndication and originally airing in first-run syndication in the United States from ...

'' (1987) *'' Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater'' (1987) *'' Maxie’s World'' (1987) *''

DuckTales ''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...

'' (1987) *''

The New Archies ''The New Archies'' is an American animated sitcom produced by DIC Animation City, based upon the characters by Archie Comics. The series, originally produced for NBC's Saturday morning schedule and broadcast from September 12 to December 5, 198 ...

'' (1987) *''

Sylvanian Families is a line of collectible anthropomorphic animal figurines made of flocked plastic. They were created by the Japanese gaming company Epoch in 1985 and distributed worldwide by a number of companies. History Beginning and growth At the beginning ...

'' (1987) *''

The New Yogi Bear Show ''The New Yogi Bear Show'' (also known as ''Hanna-Barbera's Yogi Bear Show'') is an American animated television series and the sixth incarnation of the ''Yogi Bear'' franchise produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired in syndication from ...

'' (1988) *'' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' (1989) *''

Tom & Jerry Kids ''Tom & Jerry Kids'' (formerly known as ''Tom & Jerry Kids Show'' in the first season) is an American animated comedy television series co-produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Entertainment Co., and starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry a ...

'' (1990) *''

Camp Candy ''Camp Candy'' is a 1989-1992 animated television series produced by DIC Animation City, Saban Entertainment and Worldvision Enterprises, in association with Frostbacks Productions, with comedian John Candy providing the voice for an animated versi ...

'' (1990) *''

'' (1991) *'' Captain Zed and the Zee Zone'' (1991, 1993) *'' Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire'' (1992) *''

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog ''Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog'' is an animated series that was based on the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series produced by Sega of America, DIC Animation City, Bohbot Entertainment and the Italian studio Reteitalia S.p.A. in associati ...

'' (1993) *'' All-New Dennis the Menace'' (1993) *'' Gadget Boy & Heather'' (1995-1998): season 1 head writer

Film

*''

Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas ''Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas'' is a Christmas television special, featuring characters from the animated series ''Inspector Gadget''. The special was produced by DIC Animation City and aired on NBC on December 4, 1992. Synopsis The specia ...

'' (1992)

References

* *
Former 'Laugh In' writer Hanrahan dies at 75
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanrahan, Jack 1933 births 2008 deaths American comedy writers Emmy Award winners Writers from Cleveland People from Los Angeles Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Ohio 20th-century American screenwriters