Ron Leavitt

Ron Leavitt co-created the popular transgressive comedy series "Married With Children" with Michael G. Moye. Leavitt's career in television began in the '70s as a writer for such classic sitcoms as "Happy Days," "Lavern & Shirley," and "Brothers and Sisters." By 1979, he had taken on his first producing role on the spinoff series "The Bad News Bears." In 1980, he began writing and producing the groundbreaking sitcom "The Jeffersons." He went on to help develop the family comedy "Silver Spoons." After the show wrapped in 1987, he and Moye, who also worked on "Silver Spoons," debuted their own show: "Married with Children." The outrageous sitcom centered on the low-class Bundy family, and was full of sex jokes and scatological humor. The show was as controversial as it was critically acclaimed, earning numerous award nominations, including seven Emmy and seven Golden Globe nods during its 11-season run. The show became one of the longest-running Fox sitcoms, second only to the "The Simpsons," which has run for more than 20 seasons. He went on to create "Unhappily Ever After," another take on family dysfunction which lasted five seasons. In the '00s, Leavitt branched out, earning writing credits on shows from Spain (" Matrimonio con hijos"), Hungary ("Egy rém rendes család Budapesten"), and Croatia ("Bracne vode"). He died on at age 60.