Ronald Leavitt (November 7, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American television writer and producer. He was the co-creator (with

Michael G. Moye Michael George Moye (born August 11, 1954) is an American photographer and a former television writer and producer. In his television career he has written for shows such as ''The Jeffersons'', ''Diff'rent Strokes'', ''Good Times'', and ''227'', ...

) of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television show '' Married... with Children''. The show's 259 episodes over 11 seasons made it the second-longest lasting sitcom on the Fox network.

Life and career

Raised in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Leavitt began his television career in the 1970s writing episodes for the comedies '' Busting Loose'', ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'', ''

Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of '' Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' st ...

'', and ''

The Bad News Bears ''The Bad News Bears'' is a 1976 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Bill Lancaster. It stars Walter Matthau as an alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher who becomes a coach for a youth baseball team known as the Bears. ...

'' (for which he garnered an

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&n ...

award). In the early 1980s, in addition to writing and producing ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

'' (for which he won a

People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

and a second NAACP award), Leavitt co-wrote the pilot for ''

Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the f ...

'' and co-created and executive produced the

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' and of Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama series '' Ozark'' (20 ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

It's Your Move ''It's Your Move'' is an American sitcom television series created by Ron Leavitt and Michael G. Moye, starring Jason Bateman, Tricia Cast, Caren Kaye, Ernie Sabella, David Garrison, and Garrett Morris. The show originally aired on NBC from Sep ...

''. In the late 1980s, Leavitt co-created ''Married... with Children'', which, with its debut on the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

in 1987, broke many of the established rules and mores of television. He served as executive producer and wrote or co-wrote close to 150 episodes. Its longevity over 11 seasons made ''Married... with Children'' the second-longest running sitcom on Fox, just behind ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

''. Among its industry honors, ''Married... with Children'' earned seven

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations and an equal number of

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

nominations, including Best TV Series. The show became a springboard for Leavitt to create a number of spin-offs, initially ''

Top of the Heap ''Top of the Heap'' is an American sitcom that ran for seven episodes on Fox from April 7 until May 19, 1991, the most successful of three attempted spin-offs of '' Married... with Children'' (the other two being '' Radio Free Trumaine'' and '' E ...

'', starring

Matt LeBlanc Matthew Steven LeBlanc (; born July 25, 1967) is an American actor. He garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and in its spin-off series, ''Joey''. For his work on ''Friends'', LeBlanc r ...

and

Joseph Bologna Joseph Bologna (December 30, 1934 – August 13, 2017) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films ''My Favorite Year'', ''Blame It on Rio'' and '' Transylvania 6-5000''. Life and career Bolo ...

, and ''

Vinnie & Bobby ''Vinnie & Bobby'' is an American television sitcom that aired on Fox from May 30 to September 5, 1992. The series is a spin-off of the 1991 sitcom '' Top of the Heap'', which was itself a spin-off of '' Married... with Children''. Series star Ma ...

'', starring Matt LeBlanc and

Robert Torti Robert Felix Torti (born October 22, 1961) is an American actor. Torti originated the roles of Jesus and Jack in both the New York City and Los Angeles stage productions of ''Reefer Madness''. Earlier in his career, Torti was honored with a To ...

. He subsequently co-created, executive produced, and wrote ''

Unhappily Ever After ''Unhappily Ever After'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for 100 episodes on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of five seasons. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. Synopsis The series fo ...

''. In more recent years, Leavitt created and wrote several episodes of the WB's '' The Help''. Other achievements outside television include recognition by the State of California as Citizen Hero of the Year in 2001, and the equally notable accomplishment of out-eating wrestler

King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 5, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, actor and stand-up comedian, better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, ...

in a

cheesesteak A cheesesteak (also known as a Philadelphia cheesesteak, Philly cheesesteak, cheesesteak sandwich, cheese steak, or steak and cheese) is a sandwich made from thinly sliced pieces of beefsteak and melted cheese in a long hoagie roll. A popular ...

sandwich-eating contest at Dominick's Kitchen while Bundy was guest-starring on ''Married... with Children''. He had two children, Matt and Samantha. He also had a long-time partner, Jessica Hahn. He died on February 10, 2008, 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, mali ...

Filmography

*'' Busting Loose'' (1977) *''

'' (1978) *'' Brothers and Sisters'' (1979) *'' Makin' It'' (1979) *''

'' (1979) *''

'' (1982) *''

'' (1980-1984) *''

'' (1984-1985) (Co-Creator, with

) *'' Married... with Children'' (1987-1997) (Co-Creator, with

) *''

'' (1991) (Co-Creator, with

Arthur Silver Arthur Silver (1853–1896) was a designer and founder of the Silver Studio. He was born in Reading in 1853. His grandfather had been in the cabinet-making business and his father, James Silver, was an upholsterer. Education In 1869 Arthur att ...

) *''

'' (1992) (Co-Creator, with

) *''

'' (1995) (Co-Creator, with

) *'' The Help'' (2004)

References

Obituary of Ron Leavitt from the San Jose Mercury News

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Ron 1947 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American Jews Deaths from lung cancer in California American television writers American male television writers People from Brooklyn Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American Jews