Juanita Bartlett (28 February 1927 – 25 February 2014) was an American screenwriter and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

best known for her work on ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

'' and ''

The New Maverick ''The New Maverick'' is a 1978 American Western television film based on the 1957–1962 series '' Maverick'' starring James Garner as Bret Maverick. ''The New Maverick'' stars Garner as Bret Maverick, Charles Frank as newcomer cousin Ben Mav ...

'', both starring

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

. She also worked on Garner's series ''

Nichols Nichols may refer to: People *Nichols (surname) *Nichol, a surname Places Canada * Nichols Islands, Nunavut United States * Nichols, California, an unincorporated community * Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California * Nichols, Connecticut * Nich ...

'', as well as ''

The Greatest American Hero ''The Greatest American Hero'' is an American comedy-drama superhero television series that aired on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour pilot movie on March 18, 1981, and ran until February 2, 1983. The seri ...

'', ''

Scarecrow and Mrs. King ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to September 10, 1987, on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative ...

'', and several others.

Early years

Although she was born in San Francisco, Bartlett spent her early years in Honolulu, Hawaii, after her family moved there. They returned to California when she was 10 years old. After her initial efforts at writing stories for magazines were rejected, she took a job writing scripts for a radio interview program in New York City. She went on to hold secretarial and office management positions while still writing in her spare time.

Career

Bartlett worked for

Roy Huggins Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including ''Maverick'', '' The Fugitive'', ''Hunter'', and ''The Rockford Files''. He ...

, Stephen J. Cannell, and

Meta Rosenberg Meta Rosenberg (5 June 1915 – 30 December 2004), born Meta Arenson, was an American television producer and talent agent, who was also executive producer of the television series ''The Rockford Files''. Early life Born in San Francisco and ra ...

, and also became a producer as well as a writer. Huggins noted in a videotaped interview for the Archive of American Television that Bartlett was the only writer with whom he ever worked who changed the structure of some of Huggins' stories and actually improved them. In 1986, Juanita Bartlett created her own production company originally known as Jadda Productions. Jadda Productions' first production was the second season of '' Spenser: For Hire'', and would later go on to produce the show '' In the Heat of the Night'' when it premiered on March 6, 1988. When the second season of ''In the Heat of the Night'' premiered, the production company was renamed Juanita Bartlett Productions. After the last ''In the Heat of the Night'' movie aired after

Hugh O'Connor Hugh Edward Ralph O'Connor (April 7, 1962 – March 28, 1995) was an American actor known for his role as James Flynn in the 1984 film ''Brass'' and his portrayal of Lonnie Jamison on '' In the Heat of the Night'' until his death in 1995. He ...

died, Juanita Bartlett Productions ceased to exist. In 1979 and 1980, Bartlett was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for her work on ''The Rockford Files''. Bartlett died on February 25, 2014, three days shy of her 87th birthday.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Juanita 1927 births 2014 deaths Television producers from California American women television producers American television writers American women television writers Place of birth missing American women screenwriters Writers from San Francisco Writers from Honolulu Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Hawaii 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women