Joyce Eliason (May 14, 1934 – January 10, 2022) was an American television writer and producer. She was best known for writing TV miniseries including ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' and ''

The Last Don ''The Last Don'' is a 1996 novel by American author Mario Puzo, best known as the author of the 1969 novel '' The Godfather''. The story follows an aging Mafia Don and his family as they try to retain power. The story alternates between the f ...

'', and for the TV film '' The Jacksons: An American Dream''. Eliason was one of the writers for the hit television series ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...

'' and wrote her first screenplay '' Tell Me a Riddle'' in 1980.

Life

Eliason was born in Manti,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

on May 14, 1934. She worked for ''TV Guide'' in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

before moving to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

at age 30 with aspirations of becoming an actress. Her career in acting was unsuccessful, but she was able to find work as a writer. Her first writing credit came in 1972 for the anthology comedy series ''

''. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Eliason wrote for and produced numerous films, television shows and miniseries. Eliason wrote two books, ''Fresh Meat/Warm Weather'' in 1974 and ''Laid Out'' in 1976. Eliason had two children, Polly and Jill Eliason. She died on January 10, 2022, at the age of 87, after a brief illness.

Selected filmography

Eliason was principally a writer, but she also frequently served as a producer on films which she has written. A partial filmography is shown below.

Writer

* 1969 ''

'' (TV series, some episodes) * 1980 '' Tell Me a Riddle'' (movie) * 1981 '' Child Bride of Short Creek'' (TV movie) * 1985 '' Surviving: A Family in Crisis'' (TV movie) * 1985 '' Right to Kill?'' (TV movie) * 1987 ''

Mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

'' (TV movie) * 1988 '' Elvis and Me'' (TV movie) * 1989 '' Small Sacrifices'' (TV movie) * 1992 '' The Jacksons: An American Dream'' (TV miniseries) * 1994 '' Shadows of Desire'' (TV movie) * 1994 ''

Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All ''Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All'' is a 1989 first novel by Allan GurganusReed, Susan and Hutchings, Davi"He's 42, She's 99—Together They Make the South Rise Again"''People Magazine'', September 18, 1989 which was on the ''New Yo ...

'' (TV miniseries) * 1995 '' Children of the Dust'' (TV miniseries) * 1996 '' Sweet Temptation'' (TV movie) * 1996 ''

'' (TV miniseries) * 1996 '' A Loss of Innocence'' (TV movie) * 1997 ''

'' (TV miniseries) * 2001 '' Amy & Isabelle'' (TV movie) * 2001 ''

Blonde Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

'' (TV movie) * 2002 '' We Were the Mulvaneys'' (TV movie) * 2003 '' Blessings'' (TV movie) * 2004 '' Gracie's Choice'' (TV movie) * 2005 '' Riding the Bus with My Sister'' (TV movie) * 2009 ''

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

'' (TV movie)

Producer

* 1992 '' The Jacksons: An American Dream'' (TV movie) (producer) * 1994 '' Shadows of Desire'' (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1994 ''

'' (TV miniseries, supervising producer) * 1995 '' Children of the Dust'' (TV miniseries) (executive producer) * 1996 '' A Loss of Innocence'' (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1996 '' Sweet Temptation'' (TV movie) (executive producer) * 1997 ''

'' (TV miniseries) (executive producer, some episodes) * 1998 ''

The Last Don II ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns 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 English. ''The ...

'' (TV miniseries) (executive producer, some episodes) * 2001 '' Mulholland Drive'' (co-producer)

References

External links

*
film reference: Joyce Eliason Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliason, Joyce 1934 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers American television writers People from Manti, Utah American television producers American women television producers American women television writers Screenwriters from Utah