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Love it or hate it, "Sanford and Son" is one of the most groundbreaking American sitcoms of all time. The NBC series about a widowed get-rich-quick schemer (Redd Foxx) living in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood with his adult son (Demond Wilson) was an undeniable hit during its run. It ushered in a Golden Age of Black family sitcoms thanks to dynamic performances, frank dialogue written from a working-class Black perspective, and its often uproarious scripts. It was such a ratings juggernaut that it's often credited for killing off its much more sanitized competition, "The Brady Bunch."

"It was a groundbreaking series," Eric Deggans wrote in a series retrospective for the official Emmys website, noting that "Before 'Good Times' and 'The Jeffersons' would make TV history with powerful stories focused on Black families, 'Sanford and Son' would explore the prickly relationship between a middle-aged Black man and his son.

Geoffrey Neigher, the TV writer-producer who penned episodes of The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda and Murder One and shared an Emmy for outstanding drama series for his work on Picket Fences, has died. He was 78.

Neigher died Aug. 10 at his Hancock Park home in Los Angeles of complications from cancer, his wife, Karen, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Neigher had a writing credit/story editor credit on about two dozen episodes of CBS’ Rhoda during its first three seasons (1974-77) while also serving as executive script consultant on the Valerie Harper sitcom.

Neigher wrote and produced for CBS’ Picket Fences on its second and third seasons from 1993-95 and shared the top drama Emmy with series creator David E. Kelley and others in 1994.

A year earlier, he received an Emmy nomination for writing an episode of Northern Exposure; he wrote for and produced that CBS drama during its fourth season (1992-...

Stu Silver, the writer and producer who created the 1980s sitcoms Webster and It’s a Living and penned the screenplay for the 1987 Billy Crystal-Danny DeVito dark comedy Throw Momma From the Train, has died. He was 76.

Silver died July 18 at Highland Hospital in Rochester, New York, of complications from prostate cancer, his son, Dan Silver, announced.

Silver also was a writer on the ABC sitcom Soap, also featuring Crystal, during its last three seasons (1978-81), and he worked on other comedies including the spinoff Benson, Bosom Buddies, Star of the Family, The New Odd Couple, Brothers and Good Grief.

He shared an Emmy nomination for outstanding comedy series for his work on Soap in 1981.

Silver, who was adopted, created Webster, which starred Emmanuel Lewis as the adopted son of characters played by real-life husband and wife Alex Karras and Susan Clark. The Chicago-set series ran for six seasons...

Legendary playwright Neil Simon has died of complications from pneumonia at the age of 91, the Associated Press reports.

During his storied career, Simon won four Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, four Writers Guild of America Awards and a lifetime achievement honor from the American Comedy Awards. He was also the recipient of a Kennedy Center honor in 1995, and won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2006.

Simon is perhaps best known to TV audiences for developing the Odd Couple franchise. What began as a 1965 Broadway play was eventually adapted into a 1968 feature film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.

The Odd Couple just got hit with an eviction warning.

CBS won’t be ordering more episodes of the sitcom reboot’s current Season 3, our sister site Deadline is reporting. The season will run for 13 episodes, the same length as the previous two seasons. It’s not officially cancelled, but ratings for the remaining five episodes will have to improve — by a lot — to justify a fourth season.

Related2017 Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Getting Cancelled? What’s on the Bubble?

The Odd Couple stars Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon as the latest incarnation of classically mismatched...

Veteran television actor Ron Glass has died at the age of 71. Glass was best known for his roles on comedies Barney Miller and The New Odd Couple, as well as sci-fi drama Firefly. According to his manager, Jeffrey Leavett, Glass died yesterday, of respiratory failure.Glass was born in Evansville in Indiana and studied drama and literature at the University of Evansville. After appearing on stage at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Glass moved to Hollywood and began appearing in shows like Sanford and Son, Hawaii Five-0, Good Times, The Bob Newhart Show, and All in the Family.Read More…...

Tony Sokol Nov 27, 2016

Such sad news: Ron Glass, Firefly’s guru, has died at the age of 71.

Such sad news for you. The brilliant Ron Glass died on November 25th 2016 at the age of 71, it was announced by his representative through Variety.

Glass was initially best known for playing Detective Ron Harris, who moonlit as the author of such true crime books as Blood On The Badge, in the classic 70s Us sitcom Barney Miller. But for those of us of the nerdy persuasion, he was Shepherd Derrial Book, the spiritual centre of Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Glass, of course, reprised the role in the 2005 movie Serenity.

Video of Barney Miller - The Harris Incident - Season 5 - Ep 9

“Ron Glass was one of the greatest actors to work with. His laugh was beyond infectious and his generosity was ever present. #ripronglass,” actor Alan Tudyk wrote on Twitter.

"I've had...

Ron Glass, who played stylish and sassy NYPD detective/aspiring author Ron Harris on ABC’s long-running sitcom Barney Miller, died on Friday of respiratory failure, a spokesperson for the veteran actor has confirmed for TVLine. He was 71.

In addition to his role on the Emmy-winning workplace comedy, Glass portrayed the spiritual Shepherd Book on Fox’s short-lived sci-fi drama Firefly (as well as its big-screen follow-up, Serenity). His lengthy resume also included fellow one-and-done programs including The New Odd Couple (in the Felix Unger role), Rhythm & Blues, Mr. Rhodes and Teen Angel, as well as guest appearances on All in the Family,...

Mega-slob Oscar Madison and uptight neat freak Felix Unger once again pair up Thursday night at 8:30, when CBS launches its reboot of “The Odd Couple,” which has over the decades taken form as a play, a movie, a classic television series and a not-so-classic TV revamp, “The New Odd Couple.” TheWrap recently spoke to Matthew Perry (who plays Madison), Thomas Lennon (who plays Unger), executive producer Bob Daily and Garry Marshall, who developed the original series for television. Topics included what the new show hopes to bring to the “Odd Couple” legacy and a not-gay but “vaguely fruity” Felix.