Jerry Belson (July 8, 1938 – October 10, 2006) was a writer, director, and producer of Hollywood films for over 40 years.

Career

Belson's writing credits include the Steven Spielberg films '' Always'' and ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...

'', several episodes of ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Prod ...

''; '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'', and '' I Spy''. During the early 1960s, concurrent with contributing scripts for TV sitcoms with then writing partner Garry Marshall, Belson contributed stories for Gold Key Comics. He also helped produce ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionali ...

'', '' The Norm Show'', and '' The Tracey Ullman Show''. In the

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...

2006 documentary ''The 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases'', Lowell Ganz credits Belson with including in the script of the season 3 ''

Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

'' episode "My Strife in Court" (originally aired Friday, February 16, 1973) the catchphrase "Never ASSUME, because when you ASSUME, you make an ASS of U and ME." Ganz noted that Belson had heard it used years ago by a teacher in a typewriter repair class. He won three

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

: two for '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' in 1989 and 1990, and one for '' Tracey Takes On...'' in 1997.

Death

Belson died of cancer on October 10, 2006 at his home in Los Angeles. His sister, screenwriter Monica Johnson, died on November 1, 2010.

Television credits

*''

'' (1961–1966) *''

Bob Hope Presents The Chrysler Theater ''Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre'' is an American anthology series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967. The show was hosted by Bob Hope, but it had a variety of formats, including musical, dramati ...

'' (1964) *''

Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''The show (and CBS) renders the title as ''Gomer Pyle – USMC''. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spin-off of ''The Andy Griffith Sho ...

'' (1964–1969) *'' I Spy'' (1965–1968) *'' Hey Landlord!'' (1966–1967) *''

Sheriff Who? A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

'' (pilot) (1967) *'' Love, American Style'' (1969–1974) *''

The Murdocks and the McClays ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' (1970) *''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

'' (1970) *'' The Odd Couple'' (1970–1975) *'' Evil Roy Slade'' (1972) *''

Cops Cop or Cops commonly refers to: * Police officer Cop and other variants may also refer to: Art and entertainment Film * ''Cop'' (film), a 1988 American thriller * ''Cops'' (film), an American silent comedy short starring Buster Keaton * ''The ...

'' (1973) *''Mixed Nuts'' (pilot) (with

Michael J. Leeson Michael Jon Leeson (died July 27, 2016) was an American screenwriter. Filmography *''Love, American Style'' (1972–1973) (TV) *''All in the Family'' (1973) (TV) *''The Partridge Family'' (1973–1974) (TV) *''The Odd Couple'' (1972–1974) ...

) (1977) *''Young Guy Christian'' (pilot) (with

) (1979) *'' The Tracey Ullman Show'' (1987–1990) *'' Tracey Takes On...'' (1996–1999) *''

'' (consulting producer) (1995–2004) *'' The Norm Show'' (consulting producer) (1999–2001)

Film credits

*'' How Sweet It Is!'' (1968) (with Garry Marshall) *'' The Grasshopper'' (1970) *'' Smile'' (1975) *'' Fun with Dick and Jane'' (with David Giler and

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and '' Barney's Version'' (1997). His 1970 novel ''St. Urbain's Horseman'' and 1989 novel ...

) (1977) *''

'' (1977) (uncredited) *'' The End'' (1978) *'' Smokey and the Bandit II'' (with Brock Yates) (1980) *'' Student Bodies'' (1981) (executive producer) *'' Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again'' (with Monica Johnson, Harvey Miller and

) (1982) *'' Surrender'' (1987) *'' Always'' (1989)

Theater credits

*'' The Roast'' (1980, with Garry Marshall) *''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

'' (1986, adapted from the screenplay)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belson, Jerry 1938 births 2006 deaths Deaths from prostate cancer American male screenwriters American television directors American television writers Deaths from cancer in California Emmy Award winners Film directors from California People from El Centro, California Screenwriters from California American male television writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters