Barbara Avedon (June 14, 1925 – August 31, 1994) was an American

television writer A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, political

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. She founded the anti-war organization Another Mother for Peace.

Biography

She was one of the writers for the television series ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

'', and helped a group of Jefferson High School students write the episode " Sisters at Heart". She also wrote for ''

Executive Suite ''Executive Suite'' is a 1954 American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama film directed by Robert Wise and written by Ernest Lehman, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Cameron Hawley. The film stars William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara St ...

'' and ''

Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

'', a 1977–78

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

from ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...

''. With Barbara Corday, Avedon created ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very dif ...

'', the world's first dramatic television series to place women in both of its starring roles. They came up with the idea for this television series after having read

Molly Haskell Molly Clark Haskell (born September 29, 1939)Aitken, Ian, ed. (2006)''Encyclopedia of Documentary Film, Volume 2'' New York: Routledge. p. 541. . is an American film critic and author. She contributed to '' The Village Voice''—first as a ...

's book '' From Reverence to Rape'' which stated that there had never been a female

buddy film The buddy film is a subgenre of adventure and comedy film in which two people go on an adventure, mission, or road trip. The two typically are males with contrasting personalities. The contrast is sometimes accentuated by an ethnic difference b ...

. Avedon and Corday initially intended ''Cagney & Lacey'' to be a film. While they were writing the series together, Avedon was more experienced and proficient in screenwriting than Corday, and Avedon mentored Corday in this area throughout the series. They were best friends for nearly a decade.

Personal life

Avedon married twice. Her first husband was Phil Sharp; they remained married until his death.The Independent: "Obituary: Barbara Avedon" by Anthony Hayward
9 September 1994 Her second husband was Mel Avedon; they had one child before the marriage was dissolved. Her son Joshua is a co-founder of

Jumpstart A jump start, also called a boost, is a procedure of starting a motor vehicle (most commonly cars or trucks) that has a discharged battery. A temporary connection is made to the battery of another vehicle, or to some other external power sourc ...

, a not-for-profit that focuses on transforming the broader Jewish community through spirituality, learning, social activism, and culture, and the Jewish congregation IKAR.Paideia - The European Institute for Jewish Studies: "Project-Incubator Staff"
retrieved October 24, 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avedon, Barbara 1925 births 1994 deaths American women television writers American television writers American feminist writers 20th-century American women writers American women screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters Screenwriters from New York City