Bernard Slade, the Oscar and Tony-nominated creator of The Partridge Family and Same Time, Next Year died Wednesday at the age of 89, according to his obituary on Broadway World. The celebrated writer’s family representative announced he had died peacefully at his Beverly Hills home amid complications of Lewy body dementia.
Slade’s shows in the 1960s and 1970s quickly made their way into television history as he also developed The Flying Nun and The Girl With Something Extra starring Sally Field for ABC and NBC. He also was the creator of Love on a Rooftop for ABC, CBS’ Bridget Loves Bernie and wrote 17 episodes of Bewitched for ABC.
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“She was one of those people that I had heard about. She just jumps off the screen,” he told C’mon, Get Happy in March 2000 of working with Field. “I remember seeing her in Gidget. The camera just loves her. When I created The Flying Nun, I said I would do it only if she was cast. Then she backed out, and we started with another actress named Ronne Troup. She was Bobby Troup’s [Emergency!] daughter, and went on to play Chip’s wife on My Three Sons. Well, it wasn’t working with Ronne, so they made some kind of deal with Sally, and she came in. I was always incredibly happy to have her in something I did.”
The idea for The Partridge Family came from watching a similar group called The Cowsills perform on The Tonight Show, which ultimately resulted in the start of the careers of David Cassidy, Susan Dey and Danny Bonaduce as it ran for four years before coming to syndication.
Slade also had a rich personal life, having been married to Canadian actress Jill Foster — the inspiration behind Doris in Same Time, Next Year — for 64 years before her death in 2017.
According to his obituary, Slade is survived by sister Shirley Rabone, his two children, Laurie Newbound and Chris Newbound, and four granddaughters, Caitlin Slade Friedman, Madison H. Newbound, Emma Friedman and Hailey Herring-Newbound.
Plans for a memorial will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to The Actor’s Fund.
Photo credit: Doug Griffin/Toronto Star via Getty Images
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