Howard Michael Leeds (June 27, 1919 – February 11, 2017) was a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and series creator. Among Leeds' most notable work, he served as a producer and writer for the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

sitcom, ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three gir ...

'', and worked on several television series for

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

Tandem Productions Tandem Productions, Inc. (a.k.a. Tandem Enterprises, Inc.) was a film and television production company that was founded in 1958 by television director Bud Yorkin and television writer/producer Norman Lear. History Tandem Productions In the e ...

Embassy Television ELP Communications (formerly known as T.A.T. Communications Company, Embassy Television, Embassy Telecommunications, and Embassy Communications) was an American television production company founded in 1974 by Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio. ...

, including co-creating

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' The Facts of Life'' and ''

Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for th ...

''. Leeds also served as the creator and executive producer of the syndicated 1980s family sitcom, '' Small Wonder''.

Life and career

Leeds was born on June 27, 1919, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and as a youth, he and his family re-located to Los Angeles, California. Leeds graduated from Fairfax High School in 1938, and later enlisted in the United States Army during World War II, rising to the rank of sergeant before being honorably discharged in 1946. Upon returning to Los Angeles after his Army service, Leeds worked in a variety of jobs at MGM Studios before becoming a writer on several early television series. He worked as a writer on ''

The Red Skelton Hour ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his telev ...

'' and ''

The George Gobel Show George Leslie Goebel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991) was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, ''The George Gobel Show'', on NBC from 1954 to 1959 and o ...

'', and also wrote for other 1950s and '60s situation comedies such as '' The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'', '' Bachelor Father'', ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'', ''

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 typi ...

'', and '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir'', the latter of which he also served as a producer. In 1969, Leeds created his first television series, a short-lived

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom, '' The Queen & I''. After ''The Brady Bunch'' concluded production for good in 1974, Leeds joined Tandem Productions as a writer and producer for several of their series, including first working on the ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to ...

'' spinoff, '' Grady'', and then became one of the lead producers of the NBC sitcom ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and ...

'', when the series debuted in 1978. Along with veteran writer/producer

Ben Starr Ben Starr may refer to: * Ben Starr (television producer) (1921–2014), American television producer, creator, writer and playwright * Ben Starr (actor) Ben Starr is an English actor. After a string of minor roles, mainly on television, he h ...

, they both went on to create the aforementioned ''Facts of Life'' (with Ben Starr and Jerry Mayer) and ''Silver Spoons'' (with Martin Cohan). In 1985, Leeds created and executive produced ''Small Wonder'', a syndicated family sitcom that was produced by

Metromedia Producers Corporation Metromedia, Inc. (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the ...

(later by

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

) about a robotics engineer ( Dick Christie) and his family raising a robot as a female pre-adolescent ( Tiffany Brissette), and was his last known credited work; in the mid-1960s, Leeds was the producer of a sitcom with a slightly similar premise, titled ''

My Living Doll ''My Living Doll'' is an American science-fiction sitcom starring Bob Cummings and Julie Newmar. The series was aired on CBS from September 27, 1964, to March 17, 1965. It was produced by Jack Chertok and filmed at Desilu studios by Jack Cherto ...

'', starring

Bob Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as '' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and '' Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in ...

and

Julie Newmar Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer; August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real estate Business magnate, mogul. ...

, in which the latter portrayed a lifelike adult android under the care of Cummings' character. From 1976 to 1978, Leeds also worked as a production executive for Reg Grundy Productions.

Death

Leeds died on February 11, 2017, in his Los Angeles home, after a long illness, according to his family. He is survived by his wife, Joan, son John, and two granddaughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leeds, Howard 1919 births 2017 deaths Television writers from California American male television writers American entertainment industry businesspeople Jewish American military personnel United States Army personnel of World War II Television producers from California Writers from Winnipeg Writers from Los Angeles Canadian emigrants to the United States United States Army non-commissioned officers 21st-century American Jews