John Masius obit

John Masius, Writer and Producer on ‘St. Elsewhere,’ ‘Touched by an Angel’ and ‘Providence,’ Dies at 75

The two-time Emmy winner also worked on such other dramas as ‘The White Shadow,’ ‘Brooklyn Bridge’ and ‘Hawthorne.'

 He was not on the list.

John Masius, the writer and producer who won two Emmys for his work on St. Elsewhere and created the uplifting network dramas Touched by an Angel and Providence, has died. He was 75.

Masius died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles after a nine-month decline from ALS, his ex-wife, actress Ellen Bry, announced. She played nurse Shirley Daniels on St. Elsewhere.

Masius, who started out in the early 1980s on the CBS drama The White Shadow, also created the 2009-11 TNT medical show Hawthorne, starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Vartan, and he also wrote and/or produced for NBC’s L.A. Law and Showtime’s Dead Like Me during his long career.

With frequent collaborator Mark Tinker, Masius developed NBC’s St. Elsewhere, set at a fictional Boston hospital. He wrote and produced for the show during entire six-season run (1982-87), receiving writing Emmys in 1984 and ’86 amid 14 nominations for his work there.

The spiritual Touched by an Angel, starring Roma Downey and Della Reese, lasted nine seasons (1994-2003) on CBS, and the medical show Providence, starring Melina Kanakaredes and Mike Farrell, ran for five (1999-2002). Both series were bathed in warmth and heart.

Masius was born in Manhattan on July 30, 1950, and raised in Scarsdale, New York. After graduating from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, he moved to Los Angeles and earned a master’s degree from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Masius was working as a waiter at a cafe on Venice Beach when a chance meeting with producer Bruce Paltrow led him to becoming a production assistant on Paltrow’s The White Shadow, starring Ken Howard.

He graduated to writer and coordinating producer on the series and in 1981 shared an Emmy nom for outstanding drama series with Paltrow and Tinker.

After The White Shadow ended after three seasons, he, Paltrow and Tinker moved to St. Elsewhere, another product of MTM Enterprises, then led by Grant Tinker (Mark Tinker’s father).

Masius also developed NBC’s 1990-91 adaptation of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and wrote for CBS’ Brooklyn Bridge, created by Gary David Goldberg, in 1991-92.

You might remember his production company’s title card.

Survivors include his children, Hannah, Max and Sam. He and Bry were married from 1986 until their 1999 divorce.

Masius also won Humanitas and WGA prizes and a Peabody Award, but he “never measured success by trophies,” Bry said. “What mattered most to him was whether his stories touched people, whether they gave comfort, sparked laughter or inspired compassion.”

 

Writer

Hawthorne (2009)

Hawthorne

6.0

TV Series

created bywritten by (creator)

2009–2011

30 episodes

 

Callum Blue and Ellen Muth in Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009)

Dead Like Me: Life After Death

6.0

Video

written by

2009

 

Dead Like Me (2003)

Dead Like Me

8.1

TV Series

written bystoryexcerpts written by

2003–2004

8 episodes

 

Roma Downey, John Dye, and Della Reese in Touched by an Angel (1994)

Touched by an Angel

6.1

TV Series

created by (creator)

1994–2003

211 episodes

 

Melina Kanakaredes, Concetta Tomei, Paula Cale, Mike Farrell, and Seth Peterson in Providence (1999)

Providence

6.8

TV Series

created bywriterstory (creator) ...

1999–2002

96 episodes

 

Behind the scenes shot provided by Grand L. Bush

The Visitor

7.0

TV Series

storyteleplay

1997

1 episode

 

Ernest Borgnine, Jonathan Silverman, Ming-Na Wen, Olivia d'Abo, Shawn Michael Howard, and Joey Slotnick in The Single Guy (1995)

The Single Guy

6.2

TV Series

story byteleplay by

1997

1 episode

 

L.A. Law (1986)

L.A. Law

7.1

TV Series

written byteleplay by

1992

4 episodes

 

Brooklyn Bridge (1991)

Brooklyn Bridge

8.6

TV Series

written by

1991–1992

3 episodes

 

Jennifer Aniston and Ami Dolenz in Ferris Bueller (1990)

Ferris Bueller

5.2

TV Series

developerwritten bydeveloped by

1990–1991

13 episodes

 

Nick & Hillary (1988)

Nick & Hillary

6.9

TV Series

creatorcreated bywriter

1988–1989

14 episodes

 

Dolphin Cove (1989)

Dolphin Cove

7.8

TV Series

written bystoryteleplay

1989

4 episodes

 

Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, Howie Mandel, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, Ellen Bry, William Daniels, and Ed Flanders in St. Elsewhere (1982)

St. Elsewhere

8.0

TV Series

developed bycreative consultantstory by (creator) ...

1982–1988

137 episodes

 

The White Shadow (1978)

The White Shadow

8.0

TV Series

written by

1979–1981

3 episodes

 

Producer

Hawthorne (2009)

Hawthorne

6.0

TV Series

executive producer

2009–2011

23 episodes

 

Dead Like Me (2003)

Dead Like Me

8.1

TV Series

executive producer

2003–2004

28 episodes

 

Chestnut Hill (2001)

Chestnut Hill

6.4

TV Movie

executive producer

2001

 

Melina Kanakaredes, Concetta Tomei, Paula Cale, Mike Farrell, and Seth Peterson in Providence (1999)

Providence

6.8

TV Series

executive producer

1999–2001

62 episodes

 

Behind the scenes shot provided by Grand L. Bush

The Visitor

7.0

TV Series

executive producer

1997–1998

13 episodes

 

L.A. Law (1986)

L.A. Law

7.1

TV Series

co-executive producer

1992–1993

14 episodes

 

Jennifer Aniston and Ami Dolenz in Ferris Bueller (1990)

Ferris Bueller

5.2

TV Series

executive producer

1990

3 episodes

 

Dolphin Cove (1989)

Dolphin Cove

7.8

TV Series

executive producer

1989

8 episodes

 

Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, Howie Mandel, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, Ellen Bry, William Daniels, and Ed Flanders in St. Elsewhere (1982)

St. Elsewhere

8.0

TV Series

producer

1982–1987

111 episodes

 

The White Shadow (1978)

The White Shadow

8.0

TV Series

coordinating producer

1980–1981

13 episodes

 

Additional Crew

Hawthorne (2009)

Hawthorne

6.0

TV Series

executive consultant

2011

3 episodes

 

Ernest Borgnine, Jonathan Silverman, Ming-Na Wen, Olivia d'Abo, Shawn Michael Howard, and Joey Slotnick in The Single Guy (1995)

The Single Guy

6.2

TV Series

creative consultant

1995–1997

17 episodes

 

The White Shadow (1978)

The White Shadow

8.0

TV Series

story consultantproduction associateproduction assistant

1979–1980

20 episodes

 

Bittersweet Love (1976)

Bittersweet Love

4.6

production assistant

1976

 

Dennis Hopper and Taryn Power in Tracks (1976)

Tracks

6.3

production assistant

1976

 

Las Vegas Lady (1975)

Las Vegas Lady

4.4

production assistant

1975

 

Self

Biography (1987)

Biography

7.7

TV Series

Self - Creator Ferris Bueller

2010

1 episode

 

Back from the Dead: Resurrecting 'Dead Like Me'

7.1

Video

Self

2009

 

The 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1986)

The 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

6.5

TV Special

Self - Winner & Nominee

1986

 

Shelley Long in The 36th Primetime Emmy Awards (1984)

The 36th Primetime Emmy Awards

4.5

TV Special

Self - Winner

1984