Susan Harris (née Spivak; born October 28, 1940) is an American television writer and producer, creator of

Emmy Award 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 ...

-winning sitcoms ''

Soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are us ...

'' (1977–1981) and ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty Wh ...

'' (1985–1992). Between 1975 and 1998, Harris was one of the most prolific television writers, creating 13 comedy series. In 2011, she was inducted into the

Television Hall of Fame The Television Academy Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. The hall of fame was founded by former Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) president John H. Mitchell (1921–1988). ...

Life and career

The first script Harris sold was ''

Then Came Bronson ''Then Came Bronson'' is an American adventure/drama television series starring Michael Parks that aired on NBC. It was created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, and produced by MGM Television. ''Then Came Bronson'' began with a television film pilot ...

''. She then wrote for ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...

'', ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...

'' and the TV adaptation of

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's ''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

''. Her abortion episode for the

Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving ...

-starring series '' Maude'' in the 1970s won Harris the

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

. She worked with Arthur again in the 1980s when Arthur took one of the lead roles in ''The Golden Girls''. Harris created many television series: ''

Fay A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

'', ''

'', '' Loves Me, Loves Me Not'', '' Benson'', '' It Takes Two'', ''

'', ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ri ...

'', ''

Nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

'', '' Good & Evil'', ''

The Golden Palace ''The Golden Palace'' is an American sitcom television series produced as a sequel to ''The Golden Girls,'' a continuation without Bea Arthur (though she did guest star in a double episode) that originally aired on CBS from September 1992 to M ...

'' and ''

The Secret Lives of Men ''The Secret Lives of Men'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 30, 1998 to November 11, 1998. The series aired in full in Ireland on RTÉ2. Premise Three divorced men get thrown back into the bachelor life. With nothing left ...

''. Her most financially successful show was ''The Golden Girls''. Harris was diagnosed with

chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

, and her symptoms affected her ability to participate in the production of ''The Golden Girls''. In an episode of that show titled "Sick and Tired" (1989), Harris wrote some of her struggles into the storyline where Bea Arthur's character

Dorothy Zbornak Dorothy Zbornak is a character from the sitcom television series ''The Golden Girls'', portrayed by Bea Arthur. Sarcastic, introspective, compassionate, and fiercely protective of those she considers family, she is introduced as a substitute teach ...

was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. It later turned out Harris had an

adrenal The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are endocrine glands that produce a variety of hormones including adrenaline and the steroids aldosterone and cortisol. They are found above the kidneys. Each gland has an outer cortex which ...

issue, but she wrote the episode as "my revenge script for all the people out there who had a disease like that". Harris formed the production company

Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions Witt/Thomas Productions is an American television and movie production company run by TV producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas. The company was consistently productive between its founding in 1973 and 1999, but is still active, producing an ...

with Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas. Harris married television producer Paul Junger Witt on September 18, 1983; he co-produced all the shows she created. He died in 2018. She was married from 1965 to 1969 to actor Berkeley Harris; the couple's son is author

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics ...

. She lives in suburban Los Angeles. Harris was the step-sister to American film producer, editor and screenwriter

Marion Segal Freed Marion Segal Freed (née Sobel; July 18, 1934 – December 22, 2011) was an American film producer, editor and screenwriter. Education In 1977, Freed graduated from Center for Advanced Film Studies, American Film Institute. Career Freed st ...

Awards and honors

She was honored with the Writers' Guild's

Paddy Chayefsky Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays. He was ...

Award in 2005 and inducted into the

Television Academy Hall of Fame The Television Academy Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. The hall of fame was founded by former Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) president John H. Mitchell (1921–1988). In ...

in 2011.

Credits

References

External links

*
Museum of Broadcast Communications profile of Susan Harris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Susan 1940 births Living people American comedy writers American television writers American women in business Jewish American writers Businesspeople from New York (state) Writers from Mount Vernon, New York People with chronic fatigue syndrome Television producers from New York (state) American women television writers Screenwriters from New York (state) American women television producers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women