David Lloyd

Sitcom showrunners like Norman Lear, Gary Marshall, Larry Gelbart and James L. Brooks got a lot of attention in their day, but, despite the title, needed a staff of writers to keep their shows running. In fact, years ago, writers probably had more freedom to create their own vision without interference--today scripts are often more a result of the table than some writer typing away by himself.

Anyway, a great sitcom writer just died. I'm talking about David Lloyd, who may not be as well known as the names above, but to TV writers was a god. He always symbolized to me the heights of what could be accomplished within the form.

He's best known for coming up with what many consider the greatest 30 minutes of TV ever, "Chuckles Bites The Dust" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But over his 40-year career, he wrote or consulted on hundreds of episodes of television, and always maintained a high standard

His best work probably was for Mary Tyler Moore, where he wrote over 30 episodes, many of which are on the same level as "Chuckles." But he also did great episodes for The Bob Newhart Show, Taxi, Cheers and Frasier. He even worked in the dramatic format, turning out several hours of Lou Grant.

I have all the MTM episodes on tape. Maybe I'll pull some out tonight and do a tribute.



PS Ken Levine is a writer who knew Lloyd well. Here's what he had to say.