Roy William Winsor (April 13, 1912 – May 31, 1987) was an American

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

writer, creator, producer and mystery novelist. He created three of the longest running soap operas in US television history. Roy Winsor

Biography

Roy William Winsor was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Illinois, on April 13, 1912, and graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

. Before he created television soap operas, he wrote for many radio serials. He also produced the Western show '' Have Gun – Will Travel'' for the radio. In 1951 he created the long-running soap opera '' Search for Tomorrow'' (1951–1986). For ''Search for Tomorrow,'' he first worked with fellow soap opera writer Agnes Nixon. The same year he created '' Love of Life'' (1951–1980). Three years later he would create another long-running soap opera '' The Secret Storm'' (1954–1974). He produced episodes for

situation comedies 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 new ...

such as '' I Love Lucy'' and '' My Little Margie''. He created ''

Ben Jerrod ''Ben Jerrod'' is an American serial which ran from April 1, 1963 to June 28, 1963. The series is most notable for being the first daytime drama to be regularly televised in color. Michael M. Ryan played the show's title character. The cast also ...

'' in 1963, the first daytime TV drama to be entirely broadcast in color. The year before ''The Secret Storm'' ended, he would take over as head writer of the NBC soap opera ''

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''; he wrote for the show from 1973 to 1974. In 1981, after a long break, he returned to soap operas and co-created (with Bob Aaron) the serial '' Another Life'' (1981–1984) for Christian Broadcasting Network. Winsor described the family at the center of ''Another Life'' as held together by values such as "discipline, loyalty, and moral standards", which he said have been "abused and scoffed at in today's world." He was the author of three mystery novels, including ''The Corpse That Walked'', which won an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

in 1975 for Best Paperback Original. He also wrote ''Three Motives for Murder'', and ''Always Lock Your Bedroom Door''. Winsor died on May 31, 1987, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the age of 75 in Pelham Manor, New York.

References

External links

* 1912 births 1987 deaths Harvard College alumni American soap opera writers Writers from Chicago 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American radio writers American male screenwriters 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Illinois Screenwriters from Illinois American male television writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screenwriter-stub