Elroy Schwartz (June 23, 1923 – June 14, 2013) was an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Schwartz was born in

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in New Jersey, the state's 16th-most-populous ...

, on June 23, 1923. His brothers included Al Schwartz and

Sherwood Schwartz Sherwood Charles Schwartz ( ; November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was an American television screenwriter and producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, but he now is best known for creating the 1960s television series ''Gilligan's Island ...

. He moved to

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

with his family, where he attended school. He attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and enlisted in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

as an NYU student. He spent two years in the Air Force before moving 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, ...

with his family. He wrote for radio in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and then moved back to

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 ...

. He wrote for

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

s in New York during the 1950s before returning to Los Angeles.

Career

Schwartz wrote for some of the best known comedians of the era, including

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...

, and

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 ...

. Schwartz was also one of the head writers for ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

'', a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

which was created by his brother,

. Schwartz screenwriting credits included numerous television sitcoms,

s, and dramas. He wrote scripts and other material for ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radioquiz show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating whe ...

hosted by

, as well as ''

The $64,000 Question ''The $64,000 Question'' is an American game show broadcast in primetime on CBS-TV from 1955 to 1958, which became embroiled in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Contestants answered general knowledge questions, earning money which doubled as the ...

'' during the 1950s. His work on television dramas included ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After being seriously injured in a NASA test f ...

'' and '' It Takes a Thief'' during the late 1960s and 1970s. Schwartz is perhaps best known for his work as a principal writer for ''

'', which aired from 1964 to 1967. In 1964, Schwartz's brother, Sherwood Schwartz, hired his brother to write and edit the scripts for his upcoming series about a group of seven castaways stranded on an island after a "three-hour tour." Elroy Schwartz noted in a later

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

that many of the show's writers didn't think the sitcom would work due to its unrealistic premise, saying "They couldn’t believe you could get 30

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption. Etymology The noun ''episode'' is ...

s out of seven people stranded on an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

." In addition to the series, Schwartz also penned the scripts for several of ''Gilligan's Islands''

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

s, including the two-part 1978 film, ''

Rescue from Gilligan's Island ''Rescue from Gilligan's Island'' is a 1978 made-for-television comedy film that continues the adventures of the shipwrecked castaways from the 1964–67 sitcom ''Gilligan's Island'', starring Bob Denver and Alan Hale Jr., and featuring all the o ...

'', ''

The Castaways on Gilligan's Island ''The Castaways on Gilligan's Island'' is a 1979 made-for-television comedy film that continues the adventures of the shipwrecked castaways from the 1964–1967 sitcom ''Gilligan's Island'' and the first reunion movie, ''Rescue from Gilligan's I ...

'' in 1979, and ''

The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island ''The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island'' is a 1981 made-for-television comedy film. It is the third of three movies that reunited the cast of the 1964–1967 sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. The film aired on NBC on May 15, 1981. Plot The ...

'' in 1981.

Personal life

Outside of television, Schwartz was a licensed

hypnotherapist Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnotic medicine, is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy is generally not considered to be based on scientific evidence, and is rarely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. However, several p ...

with an office in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

. He also painted, pursued

past life regression Past life regression (PLR), Past life therapy (PLT), regression or memory regression is a method that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are Past life memory, memories of past lives or reincarnation, incarnations.paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, ''Death Is Not the End'', which explored his work as a hypnotherapist and his theories regarding past-lives regression and procarnation hypnosis therapy. Released in 1975, the film was directed by

Richard Michaels Richard Michaels (born February 15, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York) is a retired American film and TV show director and producer whose career spanned five decades. His directing credits include the television series ''Bewitched'', ''The Brady Bunc ...

, known for his work on ''

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 ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three gir ...

''. The film's current survival status is unknown. Schwartz was a longtime resident of

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

. He lived there for more than thirty years.

Death

He died from complications of surgery at Odyssey House in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, California. The city is located in the Colorado Desert arm of the Sonoran Desert, about east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The popula ...

, on June 14, 2013, at the age of 89 (just nine days short of his 90th birthday). He was survived by his wife of 67 years, Beryl; their two daughters, Nan Schwartz and Jill Moramarco; and one granddaughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Elroy 1923 births 2013 deaths Writers from Passaic, New Jersey Writers from the Bronx Writers from Palm Springs, California American comedy writers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American male television writers Jewish American comedy writers Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American television writers Television writers from California New York University alumni Hypnotherapists Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from New Jersey 21st-century American Jews