Steven Sunshine obit

Steven Sunshine, Writer and Producer on ‘Webster’ and ‘The New Odd Couple,’ Dies at 81

The Daytime Emmy winner partnered with his wife, Madeline Sunshine, on those ABC sitcoms and on ‘Son of the Pink Panther’ and was a “star whisperer” on ‘Extra.’

 He was not on the list.

Steven Sunshine, the writer-producer who worked with his wife, Madeline Sunshine, on the TV shows Webster and The New Odd Couple and on the Blake Edwards film Son of the Pink Panther, has died. He was 81.

Sunshine died March 15 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, after a battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, a family spokesperson announced.

Sunshine also spent 18 years as a Daytime Emmy-winning senior producer and “star whisperer” on the syndicated TV show Extra, landing interviews with the likes of Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino and President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.

At ABC, Sunshine and his wife wrote and produced for Webster, starring Emmanuel Lewis, Alex Karras and Susan Clark, from 1983-86 and wrote for The New Odd Couple, starring Ron Glass and Demond Wilson in 1983.

After teaming with Edwards on the script for Son of the Pink Panther (1983), which starred Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau’s illegitimate son, they developed the 1992 ABC sitcom Julie, starring Edwards’ wife Julie Andrews as a TV personality who marries a veterinarian (James Farentino) and moves with his family to Iowa. (The show was canceled after six episodes.)

He and his wife also developed for CBS the 1989 sitcom The People Next Door, which starred Jeffrey Jones as a cartoonist. That show, co-created by Wes Craven, lasted just five episodes.

Born in the Bronx on March 9, 1945, Sunshine graduated from the University at Buffalo before making his way to Hollywood.

He and Madeline, also a novelist, published children’s author and playwright, were married for 56 years. They were behind Serrano the Musical, a theatrical production directed by Joel Zwick that combined elements of Cyrano de Bergerac and Tony Soprano.

Sunshine also co-directed with Howie Mandel and Reed Grinsell the 2012 documentary Committed, about writer-performer Vic Cohen, and was a founding member of the Creative Coalition, which helped provide those in Hollywood with accurate political information in their capacity as media sources and public speakers.

Producer

Terri Seymour, Mona Kosar Abdi, and Derek Hough in Extra (1994)

Extra

3.3

TV Series

supervising producer (2003)

1994

 

Rider Strong in Julie (1992)

Julie

7.4

TV Series

executive producer

1992

7 episodes

 

Jeffrey Jones, Jaclyn Bernstein, Mary Gross, Leslie Jordan, Christina Pickles, and Chance Quinn in The People Next Door (1989)

The People Next Door

5.9

TV Series

executive producer

1989

10 episodes

 

Susan Clark, Alex Karras, and Emmanuel Lewis in Webster (1983)

Webster

5.8

TV Series

executive producerproducer

1983–1987

46 episodes

 

Writer

Cara DeLizia, Mackenzie Phillips, and Erik von Detten in So Weird (1999)

So Weird

8.3

TV Series

written by (as Steve Sunshine)

1999

1 episode

 

Roberto Benigni in Son of the Pink Panther (1993)

Son of the Pink Panther

3.9

screenplay

1993

 

Rider Strong in Julie (1992)

Julie

7.4

TV Series

writer

1992

2 episodes

 

Jeffrey Jones, Jaclyn Bernstein, Mary Gross, Leslie Jordan, Christina Pickles, and Chance Quinn in The People Next Door (1989)

The People Next Door

5.9

TV Series

written bystory

1989

2 episodes

 

Susan Clark, Alex Karras, and Emmanuel Lewis in Webster (1983)

Webster

5.8

TV Series

written by

1983–1987

14 episodes

 

Ron Glass and Demond Wilson in The New Odd Couple (1982)

The New Odd Couple

4.8

TV Series

written by

1983

2 episodes

 

Additional Crew

Susan Clark, Alex Karras, and Emmanuel Lewis in Webster (1983)

Webster

5.8

TV Series

creative consultantexecutive consultant

1983–1985

3 episodes

 

Thanks

Mick Foley, Noelle Foley, Terry Funk, and Dwayne Johnson in Beyond the Mat (1999)

Beyond the Mat

7.6

personal thanks (as Steve Sunshine)

1999