Joseph C. Cavella obit

Obituary: Joseph C. Cavella

 

He was not on the list.

Longtime Malibu resident Joseph C. Cavella died of prostate cancer on Nov. 23 at his home. He was 91 years old.

“Most people who knew Joe were unaware of the depth and range of his talents and interests,” a loved one said. “He was a real Renaissance man who could remodel the kitchen, fix the plumbing and then cook up a pot of fantastic spaghetti sauce.”

Cavella was a piano player who knew songs from the ’30s and ’40s. He was an inventor who sawed and hammered away at new projects in his workshop. He was a clothing designer who created a line of sportswear for the May Company and opened a boutique store in West Hollywood to sell his original designs. He was a photographer who ran a commercial photography studio in Chicago for several years. During World War II, he was a first lieutenant who flew over the Himalayas in the dark without lights to train the Chinese army behind enemy lines in the interior of China.

After coming to California in the 1960s, Cavella wrote several scripts for “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Get Smart,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and other prime time comedy shows. After a brief period as a literary agent, Cavella and his wife Carol opened the Copy Store — a secretarial service on Point Dume that they ran for over 40 years.

Joe is survived by his wife, four children and two grandchildren.

 

Writer

A Family Circus Easter (1982)

A Family Circus Easter

6.9

TV Movie

written by

1982

 

Nathan Berg, Missy Hope, Bob Kaliban, Mark Dermott, and Anne Costello in A Family Circus Christmas (1979)

A Family Circus Christmas

6.5

TV Movie

written by

1979

 

A Special Valentine with the Family Circus (1978)

A Special Valentine with the Family Circus

7.1

TV Movie

original story

1978

 

The Legend of John Henry (1974)

The Legend of John Henry

6.6

Short

lyrics (as Joe Cavella)

1974

 

The Legend of Paul Bunyan

7.8

Short

screenplay (as Joe Cavella)

1973

 

Why We Need Each Other, or the Animals' Picnic Day

Short

screenplay (as Joe Cavella)

1972

 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1972)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

6.4

Short

screenplay (as Joseph Cavella)

1972

 

Freedom River

7.4

Short

screenplay

1971

 

Robert Vaughn, Leo G. Carroll, and David McCallum in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.7

TV Series

teleplay

written by

1967

2 episodes

 

Richard Deacon and Phyllis Diller in The Phyllis Diller Show (1966)

The Phyllis Diller Show

7.4

TV Series

story (as Joseph Cavella)

1967

1 episode

 

Don Adams and Barbara Feldon in Get Smart (1965)

Get Smart

8.2

TV Series

written by

1966–1967

3 episodes

 

The Hero (1966)

The Hero

7.0

TV Series

written by (as Joseph Cavella)

1966

1 episode

 

Pat Crowley, Jeff Fithian, Mark Miller, Brian Nash, Joe Fithian, and Lord Nelson in Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1965)

Please Don't Eat the Daisies

6.9

TV Series

written by

1966

1 episode

 

Inger Stevens and William Windom in The Farmer's Daughter (1963)

The Farmer's Daughter

7.5

TV Series

written by

1965–1966

2 episodes

 

Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)

The Dick Van Dyke Show

8.4

TV Series

written by

1965

3 episodes

 

The Jim Backus Show (1960)

The Jim Backus Show

7.4

TV Series

teleplay by

1961

1 episode