Sherwood Schwartz

The guiding force behind two of the most popular youth-oriented series of the 20th century, Sherwood Schwartz created, wrote and produced "Gilligan's Island" (CBS, 1964-67) and "The Brady Bunch" (ABC, 1969-1974). The shows' gentle humor and likable characters found favor with young audiences, who helped put both shows into heavy rotation via syndication in the 1970s. Schwartz oversaw a dizzying array of spin-offs, tributes, feature film versions and even reality shows based on the two programs for the majority of his career, which lasted well into his ninth decade. His contributions to the television landscape were well loved, which was enough to ensure his immortality as a giant in the medium.