Mary Tyler Moore Betty Ford Ed Weinberger Hay-Adams Hotel 1975

Edwin B. "Ed." Weinberger (born September 1, 1945) is an American

screenwriter 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 ...

and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

Life and career

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the only son of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

butcher Leon and his wife Helen Weinberger, Weinberger began his TV career after he dropped out of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, worked for such stand-up comedians as Dick Gregory,

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

, and

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

. His first job in television was writing for ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. He also wrote for ''The

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Special'', '' The Bill Cosby Show'', and ''The Dean Martin Variety Hour''. Weinberger, along with James L. Brooks, David Davis,

Allan Burns Allan Pennington Burns (May 18, 1935January 30, 2021) was an American screenwriter and television producer. He was best known for co-creating and writing for the television sitcoms ''The Munsters'' and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. Early life ...

, and Stan Daniels, formed the core of

MTM Enterprises MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the produc ...

. In 1977, they left for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and started the John Charles Walters Company. Weinberger also played Mr. Walters in the logo. The series ''

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 ...

'' was created the following year. He also wrote and co-created ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'', which ran for eight years. Weinberger went on to create and executive produce several other sitcoms, including ''

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

'', '' Mr. President'', '' Dear John'', ''

Baby Talk Baby talk is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called caretaker speech, infant-directed speech (IDS), child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed language (CDL), caregiver register, parente ...

'', and '' Sparks''. In 1985, he became president of television production company

Carson Productions Carson Entertainment Group (formerly Carson Productions and Carson Productions Group) is a television production company established by Johnny Carson in 1980. The company primarily produced ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' from 1980 to ...

, replacing John J. McMahon. Weinberger has won 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 ...

, three

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

, and nine

Emmy Awards 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 ...

. He has also received 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 ...

Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been married to TV actress Carlene Watkins since 1984. With his son, Jack, Weinberger wrote and produced the musical play ''Mary and Joseph'', which had a national tour in 2007–08. Weinberger explained in 2000 that he began using the abbreviation "Ed." when he was eight years old, admitting that "it's an affectation that's gotten out of hand." In 2012, he sued two former business managers, claiming they had failed to obtain revenue for him from his work on ''Amen''. His case was dismissed in 2013 by the

Los Angeles Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Superior Court operates 36 courthouses throughout the county. Curr ...

, but that decision was overturned in 2015 by the appellate court.

Accolades

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weinberger, Ed. 1945 births Living people 21st-century American Jews American male screenwriters American male television writers Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni Columbia University alumni Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American television writers American television show creators American television writers Primetime Emmy Award winners American showrunners Screenwriters from Philadelphia Television producers from Pennsylvania American television show creators Year of birth missing (living people)