Jim Fritzell (February 19, 1920 – March 9, 1979) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television and film

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. ...

Personal background

James Gustave Fritzell was born on February 19, 1920. He died on March 9, 1979 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He is buried at

Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a rural cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". History Cypress Lawn Memorial Park is the final resting site for several memb ...

in Colma,

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwoo ...

Career

In a 22–year creative partnership,

Everett Greenbaum Everett Greenbaum (December 20, 1919 – July 11, 1999) was an American television and film writer and actor who contributed to such shows as ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (24 Episodes), ''M*A*S*H'' (35 Episodes), '' Love American Style'', ''Th ...

and Fritzell won a total of three Writers' Guild awards and four

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 ...

nominations, collaborating on more than 150 scripts. These included ''

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, it ...

'' (1957–62), ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

'' (1960–68) and the CBS TV series ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'', for which they wrote 35 episodes. He was nominated for outstanding comedy teleplay for the Season 6 premiere, "

Fade Out, Fade In The sixth season of ''M*A*S*H'' aired Tuesdays at 9:00-9:30PM from September 20, 1977 to January 24, 1978 and Mondays at the same time from January 30 to March 27, 1978. Cast Episodes Notes External links List of ''M*A*S*H'' (season 6) ...

". While he primarily wrote for television, he also wrote several films with Greenbaum:

Good Neighbor Sam ''Good Neighbor Sam'' is a 1964 American Eastman Color screwball comedy film co-written and directed by David Swift, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Jack Finney. The film stars Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, Dorothy Provine, Michael C ...

, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken,

The Shakiest Gun in the West ''The Shakiest Gun in the West'' is a 1968 American comedy Western film starring Don Knotts. It was directed by Alan Rafkin and written by Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum. The film is a remake of '' The Paleface'', a 1948 movie starring B ...

Angel in My Pocket ''Angel in My Pocket'' is a 1969 American comedy film directed by Alan Rafkin and starring Andy Griffith. One of three films originally planned by Universal Pictures to star Griffith, it also features Lee Meriwether, Jerry Van Dyke, Kay Medford, ...

, and

The Reluctant Astronaut ''The Reluctant Astronaut'' is a 1967 American comedy film produced and directed by Edward Montagne and starring Don Knotts in a story about a carnival ride operator who is hired as a janitor at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston and is even ...

References

External links

* * 1920 births 1979 deaths American male screenwriters American television writers Writers from San Francisco American male television writers Screenwriters from California 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-tv-writer-stub