Bernard Slade

Born in Canada in 1930, most of Bernard Slade's early years were spent bouncing between England and his birthplace. In his 20s, he performed on the stage in England and Canada, primarily at the Garden Center Theatre in Ontario. He transitioned to writing at the end of the 1950s, writing an episode for the anthology show "Encounter" (ABC 1952-1961) in 1957. Working for Screen Gems, he contributed scripts to a variety of TV shows over the next few years, most notably 17 episodes of "Bewitched" (ABC 1964-1972). His success and consistency opened more opportunities and he created a pair of TV shows in the late '60s: "Love on a Rooftop" (ABC 1966-67) and "The Flying Nun" (ABC 1967-1970). After those shows ended, Slade returned with his most notable television work with "The Partridge Family" (ABC 1970-74). Riding the success of that show, he also created "Bridget Loves Bernie" (CBS 1972-73) and "The Girl with Something Extra" (NBC 1973-74). During that time period he also wrote his first film screenplay "Stand Up and Be Counted" (1972). His most notable movie writing would happen with his sophomore script that resulted in the Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn-starring "Same Time, Next Year" (1978), based on Slade's play from 1975. The screenplay earned him an Oscar nomination among the film's other awards recognition for acting and cinematography. He continued the trend of developing plays and then turning them into screenplays with "Tribute" (1980) and "Romantic Comedy" (1983). By the mid-1980s, Slade stopped creating and writing, living in California until he passed away in October 2019 at the age of 89.