Eileen "Mike" Prince Pollock (March 22, 1926 – December 5, 2012) and Robert "Bob" Mason Pollock (March 19, 1917 – July 11, 2016) were an American married couple who worked as television

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. ...

s and

producers 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 ...

best known for their work on the 1980s series ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' and its spin-off series ''

The Colbys ''The Colbys'' (originally titled ''Dynasty II: The Colbys'') is an American prime time television soap opera that originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and Eileen and Robert ...

'', the latter of which the Pollocks co-created with ''Dynasty'' creators

Richard and Esther Shapiro Richard Allen Shapiro (born June 27, 1934) and Esther June Shapiro (née Mayesh; born June 6, 1928) are an American married couple who work as television screenwriters and producers, through their Shapiro Film Corporation. They are best known as ...

. The second-season additions of the Pollocks and actress

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

(in the role of

Alexis Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–1977 ...

) are generally credited with ''Dynastys subsequent rise in the ratings; it became the number one series in 1985.1984-1985 Ratings - ClassicTVhits.com
/ref> According to '' The Soap Opera Encyclopedia'' written by

Christopher Schemering ''The Soap Opera Encyclopedia'' is a 1985 reference book by Christopher Schemering which assembles comprehensive information about all daytime and prime time soap operas broadcast up to the date of publication. It was revised and reprinted in 198 ...

, the Pollocks "soft-pedaled the business angle" of the show and "bombarded viewers with every

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

staple in the book, presented at such a fast clip that a new tragedy seemed to befall the

Carrington family The Carringtons are the core family of the American prime time soap opera ''Dynasty'', which aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. The series was followed up by a two-part miniseries entitled '' Dynasty: The Reunion'' in October 19 ...

every five minutes." The Pollocks brought the daytime series '' The Doctors'' its highest ratings in the early 1970s. They also wrote for ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' from 1976 to 1977. In 1997, a Golden Palm Star on the

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

, Walk of Stars was dedicated to them. On December 5, 2012, six months after Eileen Pollock "suffered a massive stroke", her obituary was published in ''

The Desert Sun ''The Desert Sun'' is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California. History ''The Desert Sun'' is owned by Gannett publications since 1988 and acquired the Indio ''Daily News'' in 199 ...

'' of

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...

. Robert Pollock died on July 11, 2016 in Palm Springs. He was 99 years old. His obituary is published in ''The Desert Sun''.

References

External links

* * American male screenwriters American soap opera writers American television producers American women television producers Married couples American male television writers Screenwriters from California {{US-screen-writer-stub