Seymour "Cy" Chermak (September 20, 1929 – January 29, 2021) was an American

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He is best known for producing ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

'', '' Ironside'', and '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker''.

Career

Chermak started his career at the age of 17. From 1950 - 1954, Chermak was head writer for the new

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series '' Rocky King Detective''. He wrote the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

for the 1959 film ''

4D Man ''4D Man'' (also known as ''The Evil Force'' in the UK; reissued as ''Master of Terror'' in the US) is a 1959 independent American science fiction film in color by De Luxe, produced by Jack H. Harris (from his original screenplay), directed by ...

''. In 1967, he became an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

for the new

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

crime drama television series '' Ironside''. In 1971, Chermak was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy 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. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

for his work on Ironside. He would go on to write and produce several television programs, including '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'', '' Barbary Court'',

Murder at the World Series ''Murder at the World Series'' is a 1977 American TV movie starring Lynda Day George, Murray Hamilton, and Karen Valentine and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Plot A psychopath, once rejected for membership of the Houston Astros, plans reveng ...

, and spinoff television series ''

Amy Prentiss ''Amy Prentiss'' is an American police drama television series that originally aired on NBC. Description ''Amy Prentiss'' was a spinoff of ''Ironside (TV series), Ironside'' (the pilot was a two-hour episode of that show) and like that series wa ...

''. In 1978, he became a

for the new NBC series ''

''. He would go on to produce 125 episodes of the show. In 1998, Chermak was a screenwriter for the

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

''Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Families''. He wrote the script with his wife, Francine Carroll, for which they were nominated for a

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

Award. In 2016, Chermak wrote the book ''The Show Runner: An Insider's Guide to Successful Television Production''.

Death

Chermak died on January 29, 2021, at the age of 91, at his home in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chermak, Cy 1929 births 2021 deaths American television writers People from Bayonne, New Jersey Television producers from New Jersey