Dee Caruso



Born April 7, 1929, Dee Caruso was an American television and film screenwriter and television producer. He began his career by writing for stand-up comedians, such as Don Adams, Marty Allen and Steve Rossi. He and his writing partner, Gerald Gardner, were part of the writing staff who won an Emmy for their work on David Frost's "That Was The Week That Was." They co-produced "The Red Skelton Show" and continued to collaborate on projects throughout their career, which included "Get Smart," "The Monkees," "The Smothers Brothers Show," "Gilligan's Island," "What's Happening!!," "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir," "Happy Days" and "The Bill Cosby Show." They also co-wrote television specials for Jerry Lewis, Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Debbie Reynolds, Don Rickles and Jack Benny. Caruso and Gardner also wrote several television films, including "Break Up" in 1973, which starred Bernadette Peters and "How to Break Up a Happy Divorce" in 1976 with Barbara Eden. They also worked on several feature film projects, such as "Which Way to the Front?" with Jerry Lewis and "The World's Greatest Athlete" in 1973 with John Amos and Jan-Michael Vincent. With his wife, Sandra, Caruso taught writing for ten years at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and then became a screenwriting professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where he taught for more than twenty years. He died of pneumonia at his home in Brentwood, California, on May 27, 2012, at the age of 83, survived by his wife of 47 years, Sandra Caruso. His memorial service was held at the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Episode(s)

 * The Producer