Thomas Avery Whedon (August 3, 1932 – March 23, 2016) was an American screenwriter and producer from New York known for his work on television programs such as ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

'', '' Benson'', ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'', ''

It's a Living ''It's a Living'' (renamed ''Making a Living'' for Season 2) is an American Ensemble cast, ensemble sitcom television series set in a restaurant at the top of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The show aired on Ame ...

'', and '' The Dick Cavett Show''. Whedon began his career as one of the original writers on the 1955 television series ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

''. He also collaborated with Jon Stone to produce the 1969 TV film '' Hey, Cinderella!'' featuring

the Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...

. In 1973, Whedon won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program for the

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

program '' The Electric Company'', which was shared with the show's writing staff. He received two additional

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nominations for ''The Golden Girls'' in 1990 and 1991 and two

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

nominations for ''The Electric Company'' and '' Between the Lions''. His father, John Whedon, was also a screenwriter. He had five children, including

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

Jed Whedon Jed Tucker Whedon (born July 18, 1975) is an American screenwriter and musician, and the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and the brother of screenwriter Zack Whedon and of filmmaker Joss Whedon. Career Alo ...

, and Zack Whedon. Tom Whedon died on March 23, 2016.

Early life

Whedon was born in

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 ...

, New York. He was the son of Louise Carroll (Angell) and 1950s TV screenwriter John Whedon. He graduated from

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

in 1955. He and his first wife, political activist Ann Lee (née Jeffries) Stearns, are the parents of sons Samuel (b. 1960) and Matthew Thomas (b. 1962), and film and TV screenwriter

(''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'', ''

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'', ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'', '' Dollhouse'', and '' ''Marvel's The Avengers''). Tom and his second wife, Pam Webber, are the parents of screenwriter and musician

('' Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'') and scriptwriter Zack Whedon (''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...

'', '' Deadwood'').

Career

He was an original writer for the children's television show ''

'', which aired on weekday mornings on CBS from 1955 to 1984. As early as 1964, he collaborated with Jon Stone on a concept for a puppet-centered children's television series using the fairy-tale

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

as a basis. During this process, they became acquainted with the creative, but then relatively unknown,

and his Muppets. The trio went on to make the '' Hey, Cinderella!'' TV special for ABC in 1970. In the 1970s, Tom Whedon (along with Stone) worked for the Children's Television Workshop, becoming head writer for the award-winning show '' The Electric Company''. Additional writing credits include the more adult fare of '' The Dick Cavett Show'', ''Benson'', ''

'', and ''

''.

Death

Whedon died on March 23, 2016, surrounded by family, according to an

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

post by his son Jed Whedon.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whedon, Tom 1932 births 2016 deaths American male television writers American television writers Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Whedon family