Dale McRaven, best known for creating beloved TV series like “Mork & Mindy” and “Perfect Strangers,” has died. He was 83 years old.
The news of McRaven’s passing was announced Monday, but according to his family, the writer and producer died in his Los Angeles home in Porter Ranch on Sept. 5. According to The Hollywood Reporter, McRaven died of complications from lung cancer.
“Dale McRaven’s amazing creative life is a joy because he is the coolest, down to earth, most modest giving and loving person,” his family wrote in remembrance. “Not to mention, he made the best ground beef and vegetarian bean Chili. It is easy to be inspired and in awe of Dale and his accomplishments, from his modest, humble, funny, loving personality, to his writings, TV Producer career, amazing photography, wonderful Art, and his triumphs over the hurdles of his health and challenges in life. Dale will be forever loved and cherished.”
McRaven was born on March 5, 1939, as the fifth of six children. He got into television at age 24, when he was hired by Garry Marshall to become a staff writer on “The Joey Bishop Show.” McRaven would later go on to write for “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” leading to a Writer’s Guild Award for his first script, with his writing partner Carl Kleinschmidt.
During their time on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” McRaven and Kleinschmidt also won an Emmy Award Certificate (no trophy was given for the Outstanding Comedy Series that year). After that, McRaven continued writing pilots and scripts with Kleinschmidt for “The Odd Couple,” “Gomer Pyle,” and more.
McRaven eventually produced “The Partridge Family” but created his own show, “Texas Wheelers,” in 1974. He also created “The Betty White Show” in 1978, “Angie” in 1979, and the “Mork and Mindy” show, starring Robin Williams. McRaven’s final show was “Perfect Strangers” in 1986, which joined its predecessors as a beloved TV sitcom.
