Perry Grant

When Perry Grant died at the age of 80 in 2004, it was hard for the obituary writers to know where to start. After serving in World War II as a U.S. naval officer, the ex-GI built up an enviable career as a TV writer, working on several dozen different shows and rising to the rank of producer on several of these assignments. It all began with the venerable "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," and what a beginning it was. Starting in 1952 and running all the way through 1966, Grant wrote 118 episodes. Following seven installments of "The Andy Griffith Show" and four for "I Dream of Jeannie," his next long-term gig was for "Mayberry R.F.D.," a continuation of "The Andy Griffith Show." From 1968 to 1971, he penned 33 episodes for that show. Grant's many other credits include the comedy about two very different men living together in "The Odd Couple," "Happy Days," the comedy about a divorced mother and her daughters making it on their own in "One Day at a Time," the call-in comedy "Hello, Larry," and the apartment building comedy "227." He never won any big awards, but from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, he had a lot to say about the way Americans consumed their small screen comedy and drama.