Monica Johnson (February 21, 1946 – November 1, 2010) was an American screenwriter whose film credits included ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'', ''

Lost in America ''Lost in America'' is a 1985 American satirical road comedy film directed by Albert Brooks and co-written by Brooks with Monica Johnson. The film stars Brooks alongside Julie Hagerty as a married couple who decide to quit their jobs and travel ...

'', '' Modern Romance'', '' Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again'' and '' The Muse''. Her television credits included ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...

'', '' Laverne & Shirley'' and ''

It's Garry Shandling's Show ''It's Garry Shandling's Show'' is an American sitcom that was initially broadcast on Showtime from September 10, 1986 to May 25, 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The series is notable for breaking the fourth wall. S ...

''. She was a frequent collaborator with Albert Brooks.

Early life

Johnson was born Monica Lenore Belson in 1946 in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, but was raised in

El Centro, California El Centro ( Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban ar ...

and spent her early years in medical and dental assistants’ school.

Career

Her brother,

Jerry Belson Jerry Belson (July 8, 1938 – October 10, 2006) was a writer, director, and producer of Hollywood films for over 40 years. Career Belson's writing credits include the Steven Spielberg films '' Always'' and ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', ...

, an Emmy Award-winning screenwriter and film producer, hired her to type scripts for the TV series '' The Odd Couple'' around 1972; noticing that his sister added jokes to the scripts which met with the producers' approval, he suggested that she partner with Marilyn Suzanne Miller to form a writing team. Initially working under her married name of Monica Mcgowan in 1973, she and Miller wrote three scripts for ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. For the second script, having remarried, she was credited as Monica Mcgowan Johnson. By the time of third script in 1974, she was credited as Monica Johnson, the professional name she used for the rest of her career. Miller and Johnson broke up as a writing team in 1974; Miller became one of the original writers for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' in 1975. Johnson later became a writer/producer on '' Laverne & Shirley'', and worked on a couple of TV movies, then began her long-term screenwriting collaboration with Albert Brooks in 1979 with the film ''

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on th ...

''. The two co-wrote five more of Brooks' films over the following two decades. Johnson wrote the book ''Penny Saver'' (unpublished) and the movie ''Marrying for Money'' (unproduced), and began doing art work.

Personal life

Johnson, a resident of Palm Springs, California, died of esophageal cancer at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

on November 1, 2010, aged 64. She was survived by her seventh husband, Charles Lohr; a daughter, Heidi Johnson; and a brother, Gordon Belson.

Awards

* National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay, 1985, ''

'' * National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay, 1996, ''

Filmography

* ''

The Paul Lynde Show ''The Paul Lynde Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC. The series starred comedian Paul Lynde and aired for one season, with original episodes airing from September 13, 1972, to March 14, 1973. Setting The series starred L ...

'' (1973, TV) * ''

Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers ''Friends and Lovers'' (also known as ''Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers'') is an American sitcom starring Paul Sand which centers on a musician in Boston, Massachusetts, and his personal relationships. It was Sand's only starring role in a televi ...

'' (1974, TV) * ''

The Cheerleaders ''The Cheerleaders'' (U.K. theatrical title: ''The 18 Year Old Schoolgirls'') is a 1973 comedy film directed by Paul Glickler, starring Stephanie Fondue and Denise Dillaway. Plot A group of high school cheerleaders have sex with the opposing t ...

'' (1976, TV) * '' Laverne & Shirley'' (1977, TV) * '' The Plant Family'' (1978, TV) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Americathon'' (1979) * '' Modern Romance'' (1981) * '' Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again'' (1982) * ''

'' (1985) * ''

'' (1990, TV) * ''

Good Sports ''Good Sports'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on the CBS network from January 10 to July 13, 1991, starring Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal. It was Fawcett's only scripted TV series after ''Charlie's Angels''. Synopsis The ...

'' (1991, TV) * '' The Scout'' (1994) * ''

'' (1996) * '' The Muse'' (1999)

References

External links

* * https://www.primoquotes.com/author/Monica+Johnson {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Monica 1946 births 2010 deaths Screenwriters from California American television writers People from El Centro, California American women screenwriters American women television writers Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from esophageal cancer Writers from Palm Springs, California Screenwriters from Colorado 21st-century American women