David Davis (August 5, 1936 – November 4, 2022) was an American television producer and television writer. He co-created the sitcoms ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American television sitcom produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychol ...

'' (with

Lorenzo Music Gerald David "Lorenzo" Music (May 2, 1937 – August 4, 2001) was an American actor, composer, musician, performer, writer and producer. Music began his career in the 1960s with his wife, Henrietta, forming the comedy duo Gerald and His Hen. He ...

) and ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'' (with James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, and Ed. Weinberger). He also wrote, produced, and developed the sitcom ''

Rhoda ''Rhoda'' is an American sitcom television series created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974 to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The ...

'', co-starring his partner

Julie Kavner Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Before becoming well known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', Kavner attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, ...

. He also wrote and produced ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...

'', off of which ''

'' was spun. In 1979, he won a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for his producing work on ''Taxi''.

Personal life and death

Davis was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

on August 5, 1936. His father, Phil Davis, was a writer for the game shows ''

Truth or Consequences ''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–57) and later on television by Edwards (1950–54), Jack Bailey (1954–56), Bob Barker (1956–75), Steve Dunne (1957–58), Bob Hi ...

'' and '' This Is Your Life''. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

during his childhood, and attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, where he studied film. Davis had two daughters, Samantha and Abigail, from his marriage to Joann Leeson, which ended in divorce in 1972. Davis was in a relationship with actress Julie Kavner from 1976 until his death. They met on the set of ''

'', a series in which Kavner co-starred. At the time of his death, it was reported that Kavner was his wife. In his tribute to Davis on Twitter, James L. Brooks also stated that Davis and Kavner were married. Davis died in Los Angeles on November 4, 2022, at the age of 86. The Simpsons episode " From Beer to Paternity" was dedicated in his memory.

Filmography

Television

Film

* '' Hook, Line & Sinker'' (1969) * '' Cindy'' (1978)

References

External links

* 1936 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers American male television writers American television writers Primetime Emmy Award winners Screenwriters from New York (state) Television producers from New York City American television show creators Writers from Brooklyn {{US-tv-producer-stub