Sitcom Writer & Producer Dick Bensfield (1926-2016)

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June 18, 1926 - June 24, 2016 Dick Bensfield, a pioneering writer and producer of hit TV sitcoms who began his career writing scripts for the Ozzie and Harriet show, died at his home in La Jolla on June 24, 2016. He was 90. The cause of death was complications from Parkinson's disease.

With his writing and producing partner Perry Grant, Bensfield wrote for more than 35 TV shows. They included Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Happy Days, The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry RFD, The Odd Couple, and The Partridge Family, among many others. He also served as co-executive producer of the Norman Lear sitcom One Day at a Time, as well as 227, Hello Larry, and Different Strokes.

Richard Edward Bensfield was born on June 18, 1926 in Los Angeles. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and attended college thereafter. In 1952, Bensfield met Grant after they learned through a mutual friend that Ozzie Nelson needed a writer for his new television show, Ozzie and Harriet. The two decided to pool their talents and apply for the job. They were hired and wrote for the show for all of its 14 seasons, beginning a collaboration that lasted over forty years.

Dick Bensfield is survived by his wife of 67 years, Donna, his daughter Jan Sturdivant of Santa Cruz, CA, his son Thomas of San Diego, four grandchildren, and a cousin, James Bensfield of Washington, DC.