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Sherry Coben, writer-producer and creator of sitcom “Kate & Allie,” died Wednesday after facing cancer. Coben was 71 years old.

Coben began her career in the entertainment industry at Kyw-tv in Philadelphia, where she worked on sets, animation, illustration and graphics for the station’s local programming and “The Mike Douglas Show.” In an interview with Aeolus 13 Umbra, Coben said she moved to New York City four years later and worked as a freelance artist for several productions, from “the esteemed Children’s Television Workshop to NYC’s legendary cable porn ‘Midnight Blue.'”

Coben joined the staff of Bruce and Carol Hart’s “Hot Hero Sandwich” as a writer during this time, ultimately receiving an Emmy for her work on the show.

In the same 2023 interview, Coben shared that she was instrumental in her own big breakthrough. She explained, “I really wanted to break in as a writer so took...

Sherry Coben, a writer-producer who created the Emmy-winning 1980s sitcom “Kate & Allie,” died Oct. 16 of cancer in New Milford, N.J. She was 71.

Coben started out in the art department at Philadelphia’s Kyw-tv, working on graphics, sets, illustration and animation for local programming and “The Mike Douglas Show.” After moving to New York City, she worked freelance for TV shows and magazines, then broke in as a writer on the children’s program “Hot Hero Sandwich,” for which she won a Daytime Emmy.

She went on to writer for the ABC soap opera “Ryan’s Hope” before creating the CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie.” Starring Jane Curtin and Susan St. James as divorced mothers who raise their children together, the show won several Emmys and ran for six seasons. St. James is the more spirited of the pair, while Curtin, who won two consecutive Emmys for her role, is the more conservative mom.

Sherry Coben, a writer-producer best known for creating Kate & Allie, died Oct. 16 of cancer at her home in New Milford, NJ. She was 71.

Coben was the mastermind behind the Emmy-winning comedy that starred Jane Curtin and Susan St. James. Shot in the Ed Sullivan Theater, Kate & Allie quickly became a top 10 hit and ran for six seasons on CBS.

Coben began her career in the art department at Kyw-tv in Philadelphia, doing graphics, sets, illustration, and animation for all their local programming and The Mike Douglas Show. After moving to New York City and working freelance as an artist for a wide range of television shows and magazines, she got her break in writing on the beloved NBC children’s program Hot Hero Sandwich, for which she received an Emmy Award.

She went on to write for the ABC soap opera Ryan’s Hope in 1980 before creating the hit CBS sitcom four years later.