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The act of creation can be a difficult process. Painful even. Sometimes excruciating. Take, for instance, the writing of the "Gilligan's Island" pilot.

Sherwood Schwartz was no babe in the entertainment industry woods when he set out to bring the tale of the S.S. Minnow's two-man crew and five passengers getting shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere far off the coast of Hawaii. He broke into show business as a radio writer for The Bob Hope Show in 1938, and found additional work on the radio version of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." He segued to television in the 1950s when he joined the staff of the early sitcom "I Married Joan," put in six years on "The Red Skelton Show" and was ready to pitch a show of his own in 1963 when he hit upon the idea of a particularly calamitous three-hour boat tour.

"Gilligan's Island" may be...

Several major movie stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood chose to end their careers on TV, paving the way for successful television careers. Stars like Jean Arthur, Bob Hope, and Donna Reed transitioned to television due to personal reasons, declining film opportunities, or the popularity of the television medium. These actors still made a significant impact on television, appearing in iconic shows and leaving a lasting legacy in the entertainment industry.

After enjoying long and profitable careers on the big screen, six major Hollywood stars ending their work in the entertainment industry on TV. Before huge stars like Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner were balancing their film careers with television shows like Yellowstone, actors of yesteryear typically stuck to either movies or TV. However, when some of Hollywood’s most elite stars of the Golden Age began to transition to television, they decided to keep their careers fully on the small screen.

Kent McCray, producer of the classic Little House on the Prairie series, died of natural causes on June 3 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 89 years old.

As native Hartford, Conn., McCray’s career spanned more than 50 years. He was born on June 7, 1928, and is the second son of Thomas Chapman McCray, who was an executive with the NBC Radio Network as well as Dorothy Baldwin McCray who was a singer and a musician.

After graduating from Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire — where his love of storytelling grew — he studied theater arts at the University of Hartford under Dr. Elemer Nagy. After receiving his diploma in 1948 he worked for the Central City Opera Association in Colorado and then went on to build his television career in Los Angeles.

He was a production coordinator on the All-Star Revue and The Colgate Comedy Hour at NBC and then worked for...

Scenic artist Albert “Obie” Obregon, Emmy-nominated set designer Cate Bangs and senior illustrator Joseph Musso will join previously announced Emmy-winning production designer Rene Lagler as recipients of the Art Directors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Awards. The honors will be presented during the 21st annual Adg Excellence in Production Design Awards on Feb. 11 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom.

Obregon spent 29 years at NBC Studios, heading the studio’s scenic art department. His credits include The Bob Hope Show, Days of Our Lives, Peyton Place, Sanford and Son, The Tonight Show, Welcome Back, Kotter and Wheel of Fortune. He worked on variety...

The singer and classic TV performer has died at the age of 84. Eydie Gorme passed away on today in Las Vegas after a short undisclosed illness. A well known nightclub performer in New York, Gorme joined Steve Allen’s local TV show in 1953. She soon was partnered with another singer on the show Steve Lawrence and the duo moved upward with Allen in 1954 when his show became NBC’s Tonight Show in 1954. The couple married on December 29, 1957. The next year, The Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme Show debuted on NBC and lasted one season. Still, both solo and with Lawrence, the Grammy winner would show up on the small screen often over the next three decades. Gorme appeared on the Gary Moore Show, What’s My Line?, Password All-Stars, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Bob Hope Show, the Carol Burnett Show among other. As well as a big music hit...

Actress Doris Singleton, best known for playing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo’s neighbor Carolyn Appleby on the iconic 1950s sitcom "I Love Lucy," has died, reports People magazine. She was 92.

Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, confirmed Singleton's death in a statement on her Facebook page, People says, noting its timing with the death of flimmaker Nora Ephron earlier this week.

Singleton appeared in 10 episodes of the 1951 to 1957 sitcom after meeting the show's star, Lucille Ball, before a performance of "My Favorite Husband," the radio show that preceded "I Love Lucy," The Hollywood Reporter notes. Ball invited Singleton to join the show a few years after they met, casting her as the wife of a radio station owner played by Hy Averback.

Trained as a vocalist and ballet dancer, Brooklyn-born Dorothea Singleton performed with the American Ballet Theater and the Art Jarrett's orchestra in the late 1930s,...

Actress Doris Singleton, best known for playing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo's neighbor Carolyn Appleby on the iconic 1950s sitcom "I Love Lucy," has died, reports People magazine. She was 92.

Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, confirmed Singleton's death in a statement on her Facebook page, People says, noting its timing with the death of flimmaker Nora Ephron earlier this week.

Singleton appeared in 10 episodes of the 1951 to 1957 sitcom after meeting the show's star, Lucille Ball, before a performance of "My Favorite Husband," the radio show that preceded "I Love Lucy," The Hollywood Reporter notes. Ball invited Singleton to join the show a few years after they met, casting her as the wife of a radio station owner played by Hy Averback.

Trained as a vocalist and ballet dancer, Brooklyn-born Dorothea Singleton performed with the American Ballet Theater and the Art Jarrett's orchestra in the late 1930s,...

Producer Sherwood Schwartz, the Emmy-winning creator of such hit TV shows "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch," died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 94.

"He had a lot of favorite projects and a lot of favorite shows and his favorite one was always the next one," his son and producing partner, Lloyd J. Schwartz, told TheWrap. "He didn't really die. He just ran out of time to do things."

The father and son were working...

Filed under: TV News

Sherwood Schwartz, the brain behind some of TV's most endearing and recognizable sitcoms, has died, according to TMZ. He was 94.

Schwartz, who created 'The Brady Bunch' and 'Gilligan's Island,' got his start on as a writer on 'I Married Joan' and 'The Red Skelton Hour.' He won an Emmy in 1961 for the latter. Prior to his TV credits, Schwartz wrote for the radio versions of 'The Bob Hope Show' and 'The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.'

'Gilligan's Island' took off in 1964 and ran for three seasons on CBS. The series starred Bob Denver, Alan Hale and Dawn Wells (pictured with Schwartz). Following the success of 'Gilligan's,' Schwartz created 'The Brady Bunch,' starring Florence Henderson and Robert Reed, for ABC in 1969.

 

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Kathryn Grayson, the lilting soprano who starred in the classic MGM musicals "Show Boat," "Kiss Me Kate" and "Anchors Aweigh," died Wednesday at her Los Angeles home. She turned 88 last week.

Grayson's longtime companion and secretary, Sally Sherman, said Thursday that the actress died of natural causes.

Grayson also was professionally linked with Howard Keel, with whom she co-starred in three movies. With him, Grayson sang and acted as the riverboat belle Magnolia in "Show Boat" (1951); as a Parisian dress shop owner in "Lovely to Look At" (1952) -- in which she sang Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" -- and as a high-strung actress in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953).

Later in their careers, Grayson and Keel performed together in nightclubs -- she was a coloratura soprano, he was a baritone -- and toured in summer stock.

Born as Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick on Feb. 9, 1922, in Winston-Salem, N.C., she...