Bernard Slade Newbound (May 2, 1930 – October 30, 2019) was a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he created the sitcoms ''

The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American sitcom about a community of nuns which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book '' The Fifteenth Pelican,'' written by Tere ...

'' and ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...

''. As a playwright, he wrote '' Same Time, Next Year'', '' Tribute'', and '' Romantic Comedy'' and their film adaptations. He received a Tony Award nomination for ''Same Time, Next Year'', and an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

nomination for the

screen adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

Early years

Slade was born in

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

in May 1930, the son of Bessie Harriet (Walbourne) and Frederick Newbound. Slade moved to England with his family at age five. After he returned to Canada, he worked as a steward on

Trans Canada Airlines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGre ...

for a while before he went into acting as a career.

Career

Slade began his career as an actor in

repertory theatre A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

in England. He also acted with the Garden Center Theatre in

Vineland, Ontario Vineland is an unincorporated community within the Town of Lincoln in Niagara Region. Located in the Canadian province of Ontario, it is bordered by the Twenty Mile Creek and Jordan to the east, Lake Ontario to the north, Beamsville to the ...

. In the mid-1960s, he relocated to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

and began to work at

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

as a writer for television sitcoms, including ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'' (including the 7th episode, "The Witches Are Out," which introduced Aunt Clara). When

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

gave him the opportunity to create a series, he devised ''

Love on a Rooftop ''Love on a Rooftop'' is an American sitcom about a newlywed couple, Dave and Julie Willis, and their humorous struggles to survive in San Francisco on Dave's apprentice architect's salary of $85.37 a week. Matters were complicated by the fact ...

'', similar in theme to

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 has received mo ...

's ''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot in ...

'', about a young couple living in a windowless walk-up apartment with access to a rooftop with a view of San Francisco. The following year, Slade developed ''

'' (adapted from

Tere Rios Tere may refer to: * Abigail Tere-Apisah (born 1992), Papua New Guinea tennis player * Tere A. Zubizarreta * Tere Glassie (born 1977), Australian rugby league football player * Tere Marichal (born 1956) * Tere O'Connor (born 1958), American dan ...

' book, ''The Fifteenth Pelican''), with Sally Field as a young novice whose habit's headgear enabled her to fly. After briefly leaving Screen Gems to work as a script supervisor on ''

The Courtship of Eddie's Father ''The Courtship of Eddie's Father'' is an American sitcom based on the 1963 film of the same name, which was based on a novel by Mark Toby (edited by Dorothy Wilson). The series is about a widower, Tom Corbett (played by Bill Bixby), who is a ...

'' for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he came back to Screen Gems to create ''

'', based on the real-life

Cowsills The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and ...

, and ''

Bridget Loves Bernie ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' is an American sitcom created by Bernard Slade. Depicting an interfaith marriage between a Catholic woman and a Jewish man, ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' was based loosely on the premise of the 1920s Broadway play and 1940s ra ...

'', inspired by the play ''

Abie's Irish Rose ''Abie's Irish Rose'' is a popular comedy by Anne Nichols, which premiered in 1922. Initially a Broadway play, it has become familiar through repeated stage productions, films and radio programs. The basic premise involves an Irish Catholic gir ...

''. He also wrote the script to the 1972

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mult ...

film ''

Stand Up and Be Counted ''Stand Up and Be Counted'' is a 1972 American comedy film directed by Jackie Cooper and starring Jacqueline Bisset and Stella Stevens. It features the recording of " I Am Woman" (1971) by Helen Reddy. Plot Cast * Jacqueline Bisset - She ...

,'' directed by

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

and starring Jacqueline Bisset, in which the Helen Reddy song " I Am Woman" was first introduced. The last show he created for Screen Gems before it changed its name to

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems ...

was '' The Girl with Something Extra''. Despite his success in television, Slade returned to the theater in 1975 with his play '' Same Time, Next Year'', about a couple who are married to others but meet once-a-year for sex and conversation. With

Charles Grodin Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including '' The Virginian''. After a small part ...

and Ellen Burstyn in the leads, the play was a major hit and ran for 1,453 performances. Slade received the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

and a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. In 1978, he followed with '' Tribute'', the story of a man who learns to love his father, a successful actor who always had more time for his theatrical cohorts than his son. Even with Jack Lemmon heading the cast, it proved to be far less successful than its predecessor, closing after 212 performances. Slightly more successful was '' Romantic Comedy'' (1979), starring

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influentia ...

and

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequen ...

. Slade wrote the screenplays for the film versions of all three plays, and was nominated for an

for his

of ''Same Time, Next Year''.(Search: 'Slade, Bernard')
Academy Awards Database. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 24, 2019. Results: "1978 (51st). Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) -- Same Time, Next Year".

Book

Slade wrote an autobiography, ''Shared Laughter'', published by Key Porter Books.

Personal life

Slade was married to actress Jill Foster from 25 July, 1953 until her death on March 24, 2017. They had two children: Laurie Newbound and Christopher Newbound. Slade died from

Lewy body dementia Lewy body dementias are two similar and common subtypes of dementia—dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. The two conditions have sim ...

at his home in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Be ...

, on October 30, 2019, at the age of 89.

Film

*''

'' (1972) *'' Same Time, Next Year'' (1978) *'' Tribute'' (1980) *'' Romantic Comedy'' (1983)

Television

*''

My Living Doll ''My Living Doll'' is an American science-fiction sitcom that aired for 26 episodes on CBS from September 27, 1964, to March 17, 1965. It was produced by Jack Chertok and filmed at Desilu studios by Jack Chertok Television Productions, in associa ...

'' (1964, additional dialogue on 1 episode) *''

'' (1964-1968, writer of 17 episodes) *''

'' (1966-1967, creator and writer of 14 episodes) *''

'' (1967-1970, creator and writer of 7 episodes) *''

'' (1969-1970, script consultant) *''

'' (1970-1974, creator and writer of 10 episodes) *''

'' (1972-1973, creator and writer of 3 episodes) *'' The Girl with Something Extra'' (1973-1974, creator and writer of 4 episodes) *'' Ernie, Madge and Artie'' (1974 TV-movie, writer) *''

Good Heavens ''Good Heavens'' is an ABC comedy anthology series produced by Columbia Pictures Television that aired between February 29 and June 26, 1976. It ranked #17 in the Nielsen ratings during the 1975-76 television season. The main character was Mr. A ...

'' (1976, writer of 1 episode)

Theatre

*'' Same Time, Next Year'' (1975) *'' Tribute'' (1978) *'' Romantic Comedy'' (1980) *'' Special Occasions'' (1982) *''Sweet William'' (1987) later titled ''An Act of the Imagination'' *''Same Time, Another Year'' (1996) Sequel to ''Same Time, Next Year''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slade, Bernard 1930 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian expatriate writers in the United States Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian male screenwriters Deaths from Lewy body dementia Deaths from dementia in California People from St. Catharines Writers from Ontario