Danny Arnold (born Arnold Rothmann; January 23, 1925 – August 19, 1995) was an American producer,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and director known for producing '' Barney Miller'', '' That Girl'', and '' Bewitched''.

Early life

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Arnold started his career acting in summer stock and doing comedy in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

in the South Pacific. He later moved to Hollywood to continue a career in show business.

Career

Arnold appeared in films as an actor opposite the comic duo Martin and Lewis, and also wrote the screenplay for the Martin and Lewis vehicle '' The Caddy'' (1953). In 1956, Arnold started writing for such television series as '' The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'' and ''The Rosemary Clooney Show''. In the 1960s, he began writing and producing episodes for such sitcoms as '' The Real McCoys,'' '' Bewitched'', and '' That Girl.'' Regarding ''Bewitched'', which he produced for its first season, Arnold noted, "With this show, I saw a great opportunity to accomplish something. Fantasy can always be a jumping-off place for more sophisticated work." Though his subsequent work was popular with audiences, Arnold frequently butted heads with TV executives regarding issues of content and fair shooting schedules. Television sitcom writer-director Ken Levine described Arnold as "brilliant, unpredictable (a nice term for bi-polar), demanding, and kind." Tapings on ''Barney Miller'' became legendary for lasting into the wee hours as Arnold worked on rewrites; due to these extended tapings the show in its later seasons ceased having a live audience. While working on '' Barney Miller'', Arnold became so sick of the constant network battles that he founded his own distribution company Pro-Synd, Inc., so he could syndicate shows as he wished, but with the cancellation of his subsequent series '' Joe Bash'' and ''Stat'', his plans for ''Barney Miller'' never came to fruition. He eventually sued regarding what he felt was the unfair sharing of the profits from ''Barney Miller'' and got a $50 million settlement. On August 28, 1986, Danny Arnold sold his production company Four D Productions, Inc. to

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's Columbia Pictures Television Group for $50 million after Arnold dropped the federal and state lawsuits against Columbia Pictures Industries accusing them of

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

violations,

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

, and breach of

fiduciary duty A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (legal person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, fo ...

. Arnold won two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s, one for ''

My World and Welcome to It ''My World ... and Welcome to It'' is an American half-hour television sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber. It starred William Windom (actor), William Windom as John Monroe, a Thurber-like writer and cartoonist who works for ...

'' and one for the series for which he is most famous, '' Barney Miller''. This latter show also won Arnold a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

. He was honored with the Paddy Chayefsky

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

in 1985 by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

to celebrate his lifetime of achievement.

Filmography

* '' Barney Miller'' (1975–1982, produced by Four D Productions) * ''

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'' (1977–1978, produced by the Mimus Corporation) * '' A.E.S. Hudson Street'' (1978, produced by the Triseme Corporation) * '' Joe Bash'' (1986, produced by Tetagram Ltd.) * ''Stat'' (1986)

Personal life

Arnold was married twice and had two children. His first marriage was to the daughter of songwriter Ray Gilbert, actress Joanne Gilbert, in 1955. The marriage ended the following year. Arnold met his second wife, Donna, while he was working as a writer on ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'' and she was appearing as a singer and dancer on the program. They married in 1961 and had two children, David and Dannel. The couple remained married until Arnold's death.

Death

On August 19, 1995, Arnold died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at his Los Angeles home at the age of 70. He is buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

References

External links

*
Danny Arnold
at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Half-hour KCRW interview "Bob Claster's Funny Stuff"
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Danny 1925 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century United States Marines 20th-century American composers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews Male actors from New York City American male comedians American male film actors United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American male screenwriters American male stage actors American male television actors American male television composers American television composers American television directors Television producers from New York City Primetime Emmy Award winners Peabody Award winners American vaudeville performers Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Jewish American male actors Jewish American screenwriters Comedians from New York City Bewitched Screenwriters from New York (state) Jewish American comedians Jewish male comedians