George Burditt (writer)

George Henry Burditt (July 29, 1923 – June 25, 2013) was an American television writer and producer who wrote sketches for television variety shows and other programs such as Three's Company, for which he was also an executive producer in its last few seasons.

George Burditt
Born
George Henry Burditt

(1923-07-29)July 29, 1923
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJune 25, 2013(2013-06-25) (aged 89)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Resting placeSan Fernando Mission Cemetery (Mission Hills, Los Angeles)
34°16′25.48″N 118°28′1.71″W
OccupationWriter, producer
Years active1970–1987
TelevisionThree's Company
Spouse(s)
Joyce Rebeta
​
(m. 1957)​
Children3, including Jack Burditt
Parent(s)John and Dorothy Burditt

Early life

George Henry Burditt was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 29, 1923, to John and Dorothy Burditt.[1][2] He had one brother.[2] Burditt served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.[1] After the war, he worked for American Greetings, a greetings cards manufacturer, in Cleveland, Ohio,[1] and married his former employee Joyce Rebeta-Burdett on May 11, 1957.[2][3]

Career

Burditt moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles to become a television writer.[1] Burditt, with his writing partner Paul Wayne[4][5] and other writers, received three Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Series. The nominations were received in 1972[6] and 1974[7] for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, and in 1977 for Van Dyke and Company,[8] a variety show starring Dick Van Dyke. Burditt and Wayne mostly co-wrote the first three seasons (1977–79) of the television series Three's Company,[5] and Burditt served as an executive producer of the series from 1981 to 1984.[1] They also wrote an episode of All in the Family titled "Archie Eats and Runs" (1974)[9] and, along with Aaron Ruben, a 1974 episode of Sanford and Sontitled "The Way to Lamont's Heart".[10]

Individually[5] or with other writers, in 1976, Burditt was nominated for an Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Variety or Music Special Emmy for the television special Van Dyke and Company,[11] a predecessor to the short-lived television series of the same name. Burditt also wrote episodes of its short-lived spinoffs The Ropers (1979–80) and Three's a Crowd (1984–85)—which he also produced—[1] the first season of Doc (1975–76)[12] and an episode of The Jeffersons[1] titled "George vs. Wall Street" (1975). Burditt also wrote sketches for variety shows that featured the Hudson Brothers,[13] Joey and Ray Heatherton,[14] Lola Falana [15] and Sonny Bono,[16] and was executive producer of—but did not write for—Silver Spoons and 227.[1]

Selected filmography
Unless otherwise indicated, years refer to the duration of the show, not the duration of Burditt's work.
  • The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971–74)
  • All in the Family, "Archie Eats and Runs" (1974; Season 4, Episode 21) – with Paul Wayne
  • Sanford and Son, "The Way to Lamont's Heart" (1974; Season 3, Episode 23) – with Paul Wayne (story/teleplay) and Aaron Ruben (teleplay only)
  • The Sonny Comedy Revue (1974)
  • The Hudson Brothers Show (1974) – later renamed The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Comedy Show (1974–77), for which Burditt did not write
  • The Jeffersons, "George vs. Wall Street" (1975; Season 2, Episode 15)
  • Joey and Dad (1975) – starring Joey and Ray Heatherton
  • Doc (1975–76) – first season only
  • Lola (1975–76) – three specials, starring Lola Falana
  • Van Dyke and Company (1975–77) – starring Dick Van Dyke
  • Three's Company (1977–84) – writer and executive producer
  • The Ropers (1979–80)
  • Three's a Crowd (1984–85) – writer and executive producer

Executive producer (only)

Award nominations

Burditt earned four Emmy Award nominations alongside writing crew of the television variety series that he wrote for:

Personal life and death

Burditt and his wife Joyce had three children: sons Paul and Jack, and a daughter named Ellen.[2][17] Joyce later became a network executive and a mystery writer;[18] Jack is a television writer and producer.[1]

Burditt lived for 46 years in Burbank, California, and had nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, one of whom predeceased him. Burditt died at age 89 on June 25, 2013, and was buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles.[2]

Bibliography
  • Lewellen, Scott (2013). Funny You Should Ask: Oral Histories of Classic Sitcom Storytellers. ISBN 978-0-7864-7148-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Terrace, Vincent (1985). "Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials". Encyclopedia of Television: Series, Pilots and Specials. 1974–1984 (Volume 2). New York Zoetrope. ISBN 0-918432-61-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References
  1. "R.I.P. George Burditt". Deadline. June 26, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  2. "George Henry BURDITT – Obituary". Los Angeles Times via Legacy. June 26, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  3. O'Sullivan, Joan (April 19, 1978). "Close-up of New Author—Her Novel Approach to Alcoholism". The Hour. Norwalk, Connecticut. p. 24. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  4. "CTV's New Sitcom Laughs at French-English Mixups". The Calgary Herald. September 6, 1974. TV Times pullout, September 6–13, 1974 issue, p. 37 (page number not shown in source). Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  5. Lewellen 2013, p. 10 "The Writers"
  6. "24th Primetime Emmys Nominees and Winners: OUTSTANDING WRITING ACHIEVEMENT IN VARIETY OR MUSIC". Emmys. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  7. "26th Primetime Emmys Nominees and Winners: BEST WRITING IN VARIETY OR MUSIC – 1974". Emmys. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  8. "29th Primetime Emmys Nominees and Winners: OUTSTANDING WRITING IN A COMEDY-VARIETY OR MUSIC SERIES – 1977". Emmys. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  9. Lewellen 2013, p. 60 "Careening to a Wall"
  10. Lewellen 2013, p. 85 "We Had to Cut the Laugh"
  11. "28th Primetime Emmys Nominees and Winners: OUTSTANDING WRITING IN A COMEDY-VARIETY OR MUSIC SPECIAL – 1976". Emmys. Retrieved December 5, 2013. There is no mistake from this source.
  12. Terrace 1985, pp. 112–13.
  13. Terrace 1985, p. 200.
  14. Terrace 1985, p. 218.
  15. Terrace 1985, p. 246.
  16. Terrace 1985, p. 385.
  17. Gennis, Sadie (June 27, 2013). "Three's Company Producer George Burditt Dies at 89". TV Guide.
  18. Biederman, Patricia Ward (June 20, 1996). "Valley Weekend: Writer Finding Elusive Secret to Success". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
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