Sherry Coben (September 1953 – October 16, 2024) was an American writer who created the 1980s situation comedy ''

Kate & Allie ''Kate & Allie'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from March 19, 1984, to May 22, 1989, starring Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin as two divorced mothers who decide to live together and raise their children in the same ...

'' and the webseries ''Little Women, Big Cars.''

Early life

Coben was born in September 1953. She grew up in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...

, and attended

Cherry Hill High School West Cherry Hill High School West (also known as Cherry Hill West or CHW) is a four-year comprehensive public high school, serving students in ninth grade through twelfth grades in Cherry Hill, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operat ...

, graduating in 1971. She attended both

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Career

Coben started her media career in the art department at

KYW-TV KYW-TV (channel 3), branded as CBS Philadelphia, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division alongside WPSG (channel 57 ...

. Her first TV writing work was on the 1979-1980 children's show '' Hot Hero Sandwich'', for which she received an

Emmy Award 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 ...

. She then wrote for ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in ...

'' before selling her first pilot script, which became the series ''

''.

Personal life and death

Coben married film editor Pat McMahon. Their long-distance relationship inspired Coben's second pilot, ''Love Long Distance'', about a couple divided between

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 ...

and

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 ...

; the pilot was shot but not picked up for a series. Coben died from cancer at her home in

New Milford, New Jersey New Milford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,923, an increase of 582 (+3.6%) from the 2010 Unit ...

, on October 16, 2024, at the age of 71.

References

External links

* 1953 births 2024 deaths American women television producers American soap opera writers Writers from Cherry Hill, New Jersey People from New Milford, New Jersey American women soap opera writers Screenwriters from New Jersey Cherry Hill High School West alumni Television producers from New Jersey 21st-century American women Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Writers from Bergen County, New Jersey {{US-tv-writer-stub