Dick Chevillat (December 31, 1905 – May 10, 1984) was an American writer and producer who worked in radio, film, and television. Early in his career, Chevillat wrote for ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 19 ...

'' and for the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

, and then for Sealtest-sponsored radio programs '' The Rudy Vallée Show'' and '' The Joan Davis Show,'' on which he was teamed with

Ray Singer (writer) Ray Singer (1916–1992) was an American writer and producer who worked in radio, film, and television. Singer was from New York. He was one of four sons and a daughter born to an ambitious ladies' garment entrepreneur who would keep his large fam ...

. With Singer he would write for many programs, including ''

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show ''The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show'', was a comedy radio program which ran on NBC from 1948 to 1954 starring Alice Faye and Phil Harris. Harris had previously become known to radio audiences as the band-leader-turned-cast-member of the same nam ...

'', on which they refined the characters of Phil Harris and Frank Remley.

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime ...

reportedly broke her arm in a game of

charades Charades (, ). is a parlor game, parlor or party game, party word game, word guessing game. Originally, the game was a dramatic form of literary charades: a single person would act out each syllable of a word or phrase in order, followed by the wh ...

at Chevillat's Encino home in 1947. Chevillat and Singer worked on television shows such as '' It's a Great Life'' and '' The Frank Sinatra Show'' and on films including '' Neptune's Daughter'' (1949) and ''

Viva Las Vegas ''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair ...

'' (1964). Chevillat and Singer ceased working together in 1966. Then Chevillat wrote/consulted on 152 episodes of ''

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television absurdist sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first br ...

''. He received story credit for ''

Gordy ''Gordy'' is a 1994 American family comedy-drama film directed by Mark Lewis, about a livestock piglet named Gordy who searches for his missing family (who are taken away to a slaughterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska). He experiences the lives of othe ...

'' (1995), which he and

Jay Sommers Jay Sommers (January 3, 1917September 25, 1985) was an American producer, director and comedy writer whose career spanned four decades. He wrote more than 90 television comedy episodes, produced 63, and was creator and producer of the ''Green A ...

originally wrote with Arnold the Pig from ''

'' in mind, posthumously. He died of lung cancer on May 10, 1984 in

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, ...

at age 78.

References

External links

*
Dick Chevillat
on the RadioGoldINDEX {{Authority control 1905 births 1984 deaths American radio writers 20th-century American male writers