Wisner McCamey Washam (born September 8, 1931) is an American soap opera writer, best known as the

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

of ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'', from 1981 to 1987.

Early life and career

A native of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, he graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. After working in local television and radio in Charlotte, he moved to London where he studied acting at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

. From there, he returned to New York where he worked for four seasons with the American

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Festival in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and on national tour.

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

he was stage manager for ''The Fantasticks, The White Devil'', and ''The House of Blue Leaves''. He toured the US as stage manager for Victor Borge, then worked with Mike Todd's ''America Be Seated'' as well as ''The Birds'' and ''The Orestea'' in the Ypsilanti Greek Festival. On Broadway he was

understudy In theatre, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

and

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

's ''Star-Spangled Girl'', ''Plaza Suite'' (he also assisted Mike Nichols in directing the national tour), ''The Prisoner of Second Avenue'', ''There's A Girl in My Soup'', and ''The Riot Act''.

All My Children

He was groomed by ''All My Children'' creator

Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon ( Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas ''One Life to Live'', ''All My Children'', as well as '' Loving'' and its spin-off '' The ...

to take the reins in the 1980s while she focused on other endeavors. From 1981-83, he shared head writing duties with Nixon, and from 1986-87, was co-head writer with Lorraine Broderick. Washam took a break from the show for nearly three years, but returned in time for its 20th anniversary. From 1989-92, Washam served as Associate Head Writer (alongside Broderick through 1991, followed by Megan McTavish), with Nixon head writing the show. Washam chose to leave ''All My Children'' once again, upon McTavish's ascension to the head writing post.

Later career

After leaving ''All My Children'' Washam worked in Paris while assisting development of the European soap opera which eventually aired as ''Riviera''. He created the concept for a new

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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...

primetime soap, and was also involved in the development of a German soap opera, ''Take Your Chance''. He has written both a screenplay and a novel entitled ''The Cloning'' which has been modified under the title "Has The Pope Lost His Marbles?" His second novel is "Edie's Story." His latest publication is a potpourri of his writings entitled "Scribbles." All are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle. Washam won a

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 ...

for Outstanding Writing Team as All My Children's co-head writer alongside Nixon in 1985, and another with Broderick in 1988. His third daytime Emmy was in 1993 with CBS's "The Guiding Light."

Personal life

Washam married soap opera and Broadway actress Judith Barcroft on June 15, 1969. They have a son named Ian Miller Washam (who played Little Phillip Brent on ''All My Children'' in the 1970s) and a daughter, Amy Washam Masterson, and three granddaughters.

Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Awards 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 ...

WINS *(1985 & 1988; Best Writing; ''All My Children'') *(1993; Best Writing; ''Guiding Light'') NOMINATIONS *(1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1991 & 1992; Best Writing; ''All My Children'')

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

NOMINATIONS *(1991 & 1992 seasons; ''All My Children'')

Head writing tenure

References

External links

* *
Interview at "welovesoaps.net"
http://www.welovesoaps.net/2010/02/wisner-washam-interview-part-2-of-3.html Part 2 of
Part 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washam, Wisner 1931 births Living people American soap opera writers Daytime Emmy Award winners University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni