Danny Arnold (born Arnold Rothmann; January 23, 1925 – August 19, 1995) was an American
producer,
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
,
comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
,
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
and
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
known for producing ''
Barney Miller
''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...
'', ''
That Girl
''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...
'', and ''
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 ...
''.
Early life
Born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Arnold started his career acting in
summer stock
In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...
and doing comedy in
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he served in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
in the
South Pacific. He later moved to
Hollywood to continue a career in show business.
Career
Arnold appeared in films as an actor opposite the comic duo
Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin w ...
, and also wrote the screenplay for the Martin and Lewis vehicle ''
The Caddy
''The Caddy'' is a 1953 American semi- musical-comedy- sports film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It is noteworthy for Dean Martin introducing the hit song "That's Amore".
Plot
Harvey Miller, whose father was a famous golf pro, is ...
'' (1953). In 1956, Arnold started writing for such television series as ''
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
''The Ford Show'' (also known as ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' and ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'') is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday eveni ...
'' and ''The Rosemary Clooney Show''. In the 1960s, he began writing and producing episodes for such sitcoms as ''
The Real McCoys
''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Company, ...
,'' ''
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 ...
'', and ''
That Girl
''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...
.'' Regarding ''Bewitched'', which he produced for its first season, Arnold noted, "With this show, I saw a great opportunity to accomplish something. Fantasy can always be a jumping-off place for more sophisticated work."
Though his subsequent work was popular with audiences, Arnold frequently butted heads with TV executives regarding issues of content and fair shooting schedules. Television sitcom writer-director
Ken Levine described Arnold as "brilliant, unpredictable (a nice term for bi-polar), demanding, and kind." Tapings on ''Barney Miller'' became legendary for lasting into the wee hours as Arnold worked on rewrites; due to these extended tapings the show in its later seasons ceased having a live audience. While working on ''
Barney Miller
''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...
'', Arnold became so sick of the constant network battles that he founded his own distribution company Pro-Synd, Inc., so he could syndicate shows as he wished, but with the cancellation of his subsequent series ''
Joe Bash'' and ''Stat'', his plans for ''Barney Miller'' never came to fruition. He eventually sued regarding what he felt was the unfair sharing of the profits from ''Barney Miller'' and got a $50 million settlement.
On August 28, 1986, Danny Arnold sold his production company Four D Productions, Inc. to
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
's
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 Gem ...
Group for $50 million after Arnold dropped the federal and state lawsuits against Columbia Pictures Industries accusing them of
antitrust
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
violations,
fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
, and breach of
fiduciary duty
A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, for exampl ...
.
Arnold won two
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s, one for ''
My World and Welcome to It
''My World ... and Welcome to It'' is an American half-hour television sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber.Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 - Present'', pages 430-431, Bal ...
'' and one for the series for which he is most famous, ''
Barney Miller
''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...
''. This latter show also won Arnold a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
. He was honored with the
Paddy Chayefsky
Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays.
He was ...
Award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An awar ...
in 1985 by the
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 ...
to celebrate his lifetime of achievement.
Filmography
* ''
Barney Miller
''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...
'' (1975–1982, produced by Four D Productions)
* ''
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
'' (1977–1978, produced by the Mimus Corporation)
* ''
A.E.S. Hudson Street
''A.E.S. Hudson Street'' is an American comedy television show that aired on ABC in 1978 on Thursday night from 9:30 pm to 10:00 pm EST.
Synopsis
The series follows the antics of the staff of a run-down Ambulance Emergency Service hospital on H ...
'' (1978, produced by the Triseme Corporation)
* ''
Joe Bash'' (1986, produced by Tetagram Ltd.)
* ''Stat'' (1986)
Personal life
Arnold was married twice and had two children. His first marriage was to the daughter of songwriter
Ray Gilbert
Ray Gilbert (September 5, 1912 – March 3, 1976) was an American lyricist. He grew up in Hartford, Connecticut.
Career
Gilbert is best remembered for the lyrics to the Oscar-winning song " Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the film ''Song of the South'', ...
, actress
Joanne Gilbert, in 1955. The marriage ended the following year.
Arnold met his second wife, Donna, while he was working as a writer on ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'' and she was appearing as a singer and dancer on the program. They married in 1961 and had two children, David and Dannel. The couple remained married until Arnold's death.
Death
On August 19, 1995, Arnold died of
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
at his Los Angeles home at the age of 70.
He is buried at
Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery is the largest Jewish cemetery organization in California.
History
Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, owned by Sinai Temple of Los Angeles, refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles metrop ...
in Los Angeles.
References
External links
*
Danny Arnoldat the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...