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Marc Cherry (born March 23, 1962) is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for creating the ABC dramedy series '' Desperate Housewives''.


Personal life


Early life

Marc Cherry was born in Long Beach and lived briefly in Oklahoma. His father was an accountant which required the family to relocate to California. After graduating from Troy High School in Fullerton,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, Cherry attended California State University, Fullerton. He graduated from the school’s theater program in 1995 and initially considered a career in performance. After winning $15,000 as a contestant on '' The $100,000 Pyramid'' in 1986, he decided to move to Hollywood and pursue writing work. His move came at a bad time; the 1988 writers strike hit as soon as Cherry arrived. Cherry broke into the industry by working as ''
Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...
'' star
Dixie Carter Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law (American TV series), Family La ...
's personal assistant.


Political views

Cherry was described in an article about him in ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' as a "somewhat
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
, gay Republican." Cherry is a registered Republican. He has since stated he "stopped being a Republican the second nowiki/>Donald Trump's">Donald_Trump.html" ;"title="nowiki/> nowiki/>Donald Trump'sfoot hit the escalator." On June 29, 2006, Cherry accepted Log Cabin Republicans">Donald Trump">nowiki/>Donald Trump'sfoot Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign#Announcement">hit the escalator." On June 29, 2006, Cherry accepted Hollywood where the main award recipient was California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger">Log Cabin Republicans' American Visibility Award at a dinner in Hollywood, Los Angeles">Hollywood where the main award recipient was California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who received the club's "Courage To Lead" Award.


Career


Early career

In 1990, he became a writer and producer for the long-running hit situation comedy">sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
''The Golden Girls'', and later its short lived spinoff ''The Golden Palace''. Cherry next co-created '' The 5 Mrs. Buchanans'', a sitcom centered on four women married to brothers and their difficult mother-in-law, which had a brief run on CBS during the 1994-1995 season. Cherry also co-created '' The Crew'' (1995). On his own, he later created '' Some of My Best Friends'', a 2001 sitcom that was based in part on the 1997 film ''
Kiss Me, Guido ''Kiss Me, Guido'' is a 1997 independent comedy film. Written and directed by Tony Vitale (a former location manager) and produced by Ira Deutchman and Christine Vachon, it stars Nick Scotti, Anthony Barrile, Anthony DeSando and Craig Che ...
''.


''Desperate Housewives''

In 2002, a conversation with his mother inspired him to develop a show about the fractured lives of four upper middle class
suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...
women. After HBO,
FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...
, CBS, NBC,
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...
, and
Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...
all passed on the show, Cherry got his big break when his agent was arrested and sent to jail for embezzlement. His new agents brought the show to ABC, which decided to pick it up. The series, '' Desperate Housewives'', was an immediate ratings smash and generated enormous national (and subsequently, international) debate. Cherry received several lucrative offers from various parties, but chose to sign a long-term deal with
Touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...
, since their network had shown faith in ''Desperate Housewives'' when no one else would. Cherry featured several actors on ''Housewives'' with whom he had previously worked. Mark Moses, who played Paul Young, and Harriet Sansom Harris, who played Felicia Tilman, were both cast members of '' The 5 Mrs. Buchanans''. In season three, Cherry cast former boss
Dixie Carter Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law (American TV series), Family La ...
in the role of Gloria Hodge, Orson's unhinged mother. Actor
Alec Mapa Alejandro "Alec" Mapa (; born July 10, 1965) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace B. D. Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway production of '' M. Butterfly''. He g ...
, who appeared in '' Some of My Best Friends'', appeared on "''Housewives''" in a recurring role as Gabrielle's stylist. Cherry appeared in a cameo as one of Susan's moving men on the final episode of ''Desperate Housewives''.


Nicolette Sheridan accusations and termination

On April 5, 2010, former ''Desperate Housewives'' cast member Nicollette Sheridan filed a $20 million lawsuit against Cherry and ABC, alleging that he had assaulted her on set and wrongfully terminated her contract. Sheridan also alleged in her lawsuit that Cherry was abusive to other actors and writers on the show. ABC said in a statement that they had investigated similar claims made by Sheridan and found them to be of no merit. The principal cast of ''Desperate Housewives'', including ( Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and
Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...
), made statements supporting Cherry in his battle against assault allegations made by Sheridan. At the end of 2010, Sheridan removed abuse claims from the suit. The case finally went to trial in February 2012. On March 13, 2012, the judge dismissed the battery charge against Cherry due to lack of evidence, and Cherry was no longer a defendant in the lawsuit which then focused solely on Sheridan's alleged wrongful termination by ABC. Closing arguments were heard in the case on March 14, 2012 and the jury began their deliberations. By March 19, 2012, the twelve members of the jury had failed to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. A retrial was scheduled to begin on September 10, 2012, but on August 16, 2012, the Los Angeles Court of Appeal determined that Sheridan had not been wrongfully fired and dismissed the retrial. A further appeal made by Sheridan to the
California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
was rejected on November 16, 2012.


''Devious Maids''

In 2012, after the end of ''Desperate Housewives'', Cherry and
Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...
began working on a new series, '' Devious Maids''. Initially it had been produced for ABC, but it then aired on Lifetime. The series is set in Beverly Hills and the protagonists are Latina maids: Marisol ('' Ana Ortiz''), Rosie ('' Dania Ramirez''), Carmen ('' Roselyn Sanchez''), Zoila (''
Judy Reyes Judy Reyes (born November 5, 1967) is an American actress, model and producer, best known for her roles as Carla Espinosa on the NBC/ ABC medical comedy series ''Scrubs'' (2001–2009), and as Zoila Diaz in the Lifetime comedy-drama '' Devious M ...
''), and Valentina ('' Edy Ganem''), who work for celebrities or rich people. They not only clean the homes of celebrities, but also put order in their lives, and sometimes fall in love. Just like the women of Wisteria Lane, these maids have to deal with mysteries and secrets, since, during the first episode, one of their friends, the waitress Flora, is mysteriously murdered, and it's up to Marisol to investigate the murder and to exonerate her son Eddie, wrongly accused. Even for ''Devious Maids'', Marc Cherry hired someone who had worked with him: Roselyn Sanchez, who plays Carmen Luna, one of the maids, appeared in the last episode of ''Desperate Housewives''. Others in ''Devious Maids'' who had previously worked with Cherry include Rebecca Wisocky,
Melinda Page Hamilton Melinda Page Hamilton (born August 22, 1974) is an American actress, best known for her role as Odessa Burakov in the Lifetime comedy-drama series ''Devious Maids'', and for her leading role in the independent film '' Sleeping Dogs Lie'' (2006) ...
, Valerie Mahaffey, Matt Cedeno, Richard Burgi, and James Denton.


''Why Women Kill''

On September 24, 2018, it was announced that
CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...
had given the production a straight-to-series order.'' Why Women Kill'' was created by Cherry, who was also expected to executive produce alongside Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Michael Hanel, and Mindy Schultheis. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Imagine Entertainment and CBS Television Studios. On December 10, 2018, it was reported that the series would receive $8.4 million dollars in tax credits from the state of California and premiered on August 15, 2019.


Other ventures

Cherry appeared as himself in the "Righteous Brothers" episode of '' Arrested Development'', which was created by fellow ''Golden Girls'' writer Mitchell Hurwitz. In 2014 and 2016, Cherry was a judge and mentor for the Songbook Academy, a summer intensive for high school students operated by the Great American Songbook Foundation and founded by Michael Feinstein. Cherry serves on the board of directors of
The Young Americans The Young Americans is a non-profit organization and performing group based in Southern California. First founded in 1962 by Milton C. Anderson, the group was credited with being the first show choir in America, mixing choreography with choral s ...
youth performing arts group and is a 1979 alumnus of the organization.The Young Americans Board of Directors: https://www.youngamericans.org/board/


References


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cherry, Marc 1962 births American soap opera writers Television producers from California American male television writers California State University, Fullerton alumni American gay writers Living people Showrunners Writers from Long Beach, California LGBT people from California California Republicans Screenwriters from California LGBT television directors LGBT television producers The Young Americans members