Diane English, the creator of ‘Murphy Brown,’ will receive the Writers Guild of America West’s highest television writing honor, the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award, next month.
“Diane English is a total class act – a trailblazing, supremely talented writer whose groundbreaking body of work has helped to both equalize and revolutionize television, while raising the bar for insightful, caustic, and moving writing on primetime TV. Her unique voice influenced not only a generation of women writers, but all creative artists who strive to deliver quality work,” WGAW President John Wells said in a written statement Thursday.
English is best known for the Candice Bergen comedy ‘Murphy Brown,’ which received 62 Emmy nominations and 18 Emmy Awards during its 10 years on CBS. The show’s pilot, “Respect,” which English wrote, won for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. The show also took two Emmys for Best Comedy.
After ‘Murphy Brown’s” success, English created the “Love & War” and co-created “Double Rush” and “Ink,” all for CBS. She executive produced Fox’s “Living In Captivity.”
In 2008, she wrote, produced and directed the remake of “The Women.”
Her credits also include the 1980 PBS science fiction movie “The Lathe of Heaven,” which was nominated for her a Writers Guild Award. Other television movies, “My Life as a Man” and “Classified Love” followed.
Her first half-hour comedy was “Foley Square,” which aired on CBS from 1985 to 1986. The next year, she executive produced and wrote the CBS series “My Sister Sam.”
Previous Chayefsky Award winners include Larry David, Stephen J. Cannell, Susan Harris and Steven Bochco. English will be honored at the guild's awards ceremony Feb. 5.
