Earl Barret obit

Earl Barret Dies: Sitcom Writer Who Co-Created Ted Knight Vehicle ‘Too Close For Comfort’ Was 94

 

He was not on the list.

Earl Barret, a television comedy writer whose credits over a 30-year career included episodes of Batman, Bewitched, The Andy Griffith Show, I Spy, Sanford and Son and Welcome Back, Kotter and who co-created the Ted Knight sitcom Too Close For Comfort, died of natural causes at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, on Thursday, October 22. He was 94.

His death was announced by his daughter J.K. Barret.

A native of Canton, Ohio, Barret launched his career in TV writing in 1961 after taking a free weekly TV writing class taught by Robert C. Dennis, who would later partner with Barret in writing scripts for several TV shows. That same year, Barret wrote for the shows Sea Hunt, Hawaiian Eye and Ripcord before penning an episode of My Favorite Martian in 1963, beginning a sitcom career that would last through the 1980s.

Among the 1960s sitcoms for which Barret wrote episodes were My Three Sons, My Mother The Car, O.K. Crackerby!, Get Smart, The Andy Griffith Show and Julia. He wrote several episodes for Seasons 1 and 3 of Bewitched, and four Batman episodes in 1966 featuring Victor Buono’s comic archvillain King Tut.

Occasionally writing for such comedy-tinged 1960s action series as I Spy and The Wild Wild West, Barret continued into the 1970s with episodes of Love, American Style, The Bob Newhart Show, Dirty Sally, 21 episodes of The Governor and J.J., 13 episodes of The Sandy Duncan Show, two episodes of Sanford And Son, six episodes of Welcome Back, Kotter and three episodes of Stockard Channing In Just Friends.

In 1980, Barret, along with Brian Cooke and Arne Sultan, created the sitcom Too Close For Comfort, a vehicle for Knight, who was coming off an immensely popular run as the vain anchorman Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Developed by Barret and longtime writing partner Sultan, the series featured Knight as a politically conservative cartoonist who lives with his wife (played by Nancy Dussault) and two grown-up daughters (Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Lydia Cornell) in their San Francisco home. Jim J. Bullock co-starred as a neighbor and comic foil to Knight’s character.

Too Close For Comfort, which initially aired on ABC and later in syndication (with a later name change to The Ted Knight Show) ran for six seasons from 1980 until 1987. Barret, who served as executive producer, also directed 13 episodes of the series.

Barret and Sultan would re-team to write, along with Marvin Worth, the feature film See No Evil, Hear No Evil starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, directed by Arthur Hiller, released in 1989 (Sultan had died in 1986). Both Barret and Sultan were credited as executive producers, their final credit.

In addition to his daughter, Barret is survived by wife Barbara Barnett Barret; son John Nelson; and five grandsons. He was preceded in death by daughter Lisa Nelson.

Writer

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)

See No Evil, Hear No Evil

6.9

story byscreenplay by

1989

 

Wife Begins at 40

6.6

TV Movie

Writer

1988

 

Melissa Sue Anderson, Brandon Douglas, and Ron Ely in Sea Hunt (1987)

Sea Hunt

6.5

TV Series

written by

1987

1 episode

 

Huwelijk in de steigers

6.3

TV Movie

play "Wife Begins at 40"

1987

 

Lydia Cornell, Jim J. Bullock, Nancy Dussault, Ted Knight, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh in Too Close for Comfort (1980)

Too Close for Comfort

6.6

TV Series

developerwritten bystory ...

1980–1987

128 episodes

 

Staff of Life

TV Movie

Writer

1985

 

Stockard Channing in Just Friends (1979)

Stockard Channing in Just Friends

7.2

TV Series

written by

1979

3 episodes

 

Welcome Back, Kotter (1975)

Welcome Back, Kotter

7.1

TV Series

written by

1978–1979

6 episodes

 

Windows, Doors & Keyholes (1978)

Windows, Doors & Keyholes

TV Movie

written by

1978

 

The San Pedro Beach Bums (1977)

The San Pedro Beach Bums

5.9

TV Series

writer

1977

2 episodes

 

John Schuck in Holmes and Yoyo (1976)

Holmes and Yoyo

5.9

TV Series

teleplaywritten by

1976–1977

4 episodes

 

Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson in Sanford and Son (1972)

Sanford and Son

7.9

TV Series

written by

1976

2 episodes

 

Viva Valdez (1976)

Viva Valdez

5.0

TV Series

written by

1976

3 episodes

 

Hector Elizondo in Popi (1975)

Popi

6.9

TV Series

Writer

1975

 

Jeanette Nolan in Dirty Sally (1974)

Dirty Sally

7.7

TV Series

written by

1974

1 episode

 

It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy (1974)

It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy

5.9

TV Movie

Writer

1974

 

The Bob Newhart Show (1972)

The Bob Newhart Show

8.1

TV Series

written by

1973

1 episode

 

Sammy Davis Jr. in Poor Devil (1973)

Poor Devil

5.4

TV Movie

storyteleplay

1973

 

M. Emmet Walsh, Tom Bosley, Sandy Duncan, Marian Mercer, and Pam Zarit in The Sandy Duncan Show (1972)

The Sandy Duncan Show

6.6

TV Series

developerwritten byteleplay ...

1972

13 episodes

 

Hans Conried in The Partners (1971)

The Partners

6.9

TV Series

written byteleplay

1971–1972

7 episodes

 

Confessions of a Top Crime Buster (1971)

Confessions of a Top Crime Buster

5.8

TV Movie

teleplay by

1971

 

The Governor & J.J. (1969)

The Governor & J.J.

7.0

TV Series

story editorwritten byteleplay ...

1969–1970

21 episodes

 

Stuart Margolin and Julie Newmar in Love, American Style (1969)

Love, American Style

6.8

TV Series

written by (segment "Love and the Uncoupled Couple")

1970

1 episode

 

Diahann Carroll and Marc Copage in Julia (1968)

Julia

7.8

TV Series

written byteleplay

1968–1969

8 episodes

 

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in The Wild Wild West (1965)

The Wild Wild West

8.1

TV Series

written bywriter

1966–1969

7 episodes

 

Bill Cosby and Robert Culp in I Spy (1965)

I Spy

7.2

TV Series

written by

1966–1968

3 episodes

 

Ron Howard, Frances Bavier, and Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

The Andy Griffith Show

8.4

TV Series

written by

1967–1968

2 episodes

 

Elizabeth Montgomery, Agnes Moorehead, and Dick York in Bewitched (1964)

Bewitched

7.6

TV Series

written by

1965–1967

3 episodes

 

Adam West and Burt Ward in Batman (1966)

Batman

7.5

TV Series

written by

1966

4 episodes

 

Mister Roberts (1965)

Mister Roberts

7.3

TV Series

writer

1965

1 episode

 

Don Adams and Barbara Feldon in Get Smart (1965)

Get Smart

8.2

TV Series

written by

1965

1 episode

 

Brooke Adams, Brian Corcoran, Joel Davison, and Burl Ives in O.K. Crackerby! (1965)

O.K. Crackerby!

7.0

TV Series

written by

1965

1 episode

 

Jerry Van Dyke in My Mother the Car (1965)

My Mother the Car

4.7

TV Series

written by

1965

1 episode

 

Elinor Donahue, Mark Goddard, and Andrea Sacino in Many Happy Returns (1964)

Many Happy Returns

7.0

TV Series

writer

1965

1 episode

 

Sheila James Kuehl, Kathleen Nolan, Lois Roberts, and Joan Staley in Broadside (1964)

Broadside

7.3

TV Series

written byWriter

1965

2 episodes

 

Valentine's Day (1964)

Valentine's Day

7.3

TV Series

written by

1965

2 episodes

 

William Demarest, Don Grady, Barry Livingston, Stanley Livingston, and Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons (1960)

My Three Sons

7.1

TV Series

written by

1964

1 episode

 

My Favorite Martian (1963)

My Favorite Martian

7.2

TV Series

written by

1963

1 episode

 

Ripcord (1961)

Ripcord

7.4

TV Series

written bywriter

1961–1962

2 episodes

 

Robert Conrad, Anthony Eisley, Poncie Ponce, and Connie Stevens in Hawaiian Eye (1959)

Hawaiian Eye

7.6

TV Series

story

1961

1 episode

 

Lloyd Bridges in Sea Hunt (1958)

Sea Hunt

7.7

TV Series

written by

1961

1 episode

 

Producer

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)

See No Evil, Hear No Evil

6.9

executive producer

1989

 

Lydia Cornell, Jim J. Bullock, Nancy Dussault, Ted Knight, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh in Too Close for Comfort (1980)

Too Close for Comfort

6.6

TV Series

executive producersupervising producer

1980–1986

93 episodes

 

Staff of Life

TV Movie

producer

1985

 

The San Pedro Beach Bums (1977)

The San Pedro Beach Bums

5.9

TV Series

producer

1977

9 episodes

 

Sammy Davis Jr. in Poor Devil (1973)

Poor Devil

5.4

TV Movie

executive producer

1973

 

M. Emmet Walsh, Tom Bosley, Sandy Duncan, Marian Mercer, and Pam Zarit in The Sandy Duncan Show (1972)

The Sandy Duncan Show

6.6

TV Series

producer

1972

13 episodes

 

Hans Conried in The Partners (1971)

The Partners

6.9

TV Series

producer

1971–1972

20 episodes

 

Additional Crew

Don Adams in Check It Out (1985)

Check It Out

5.9

TV Series

creative consultant

1985

1 episode

 

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

The New Odd Couple

4.8

TV Series

story editor

1983

7 episodes

 

Stockard Channing in Just Friends (1979)

Stockard Channing in Just Friends

7.2

TV Series

executive story editorstory editor

1979

8 episodes

 

John Schuck in Holmes and Yoyo (1976)

Holmes and Yoyo

5.9

TV Series

executive story consultantstory editor (uncredited)

1976–1977

13 episodes

 

Viva Valdez (1976)

Viva Valdez

5.0

TV Series

executive story editorstory consultant

1976

12 episodes

 

Hector Elizondo in Popi (1975)

Popi

6.9

TV Series

executive story editor

1975

 

The Governor & J.J. (1969)

The Governor & J.J.

7.0

TV Series

story editor

1969–1970

32 episodes

 

Director

Lydia Cornell, Jim J. Bullock, Nancy Dussault, Ted Knight, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh in Too Close for Comfort (1980)

Too Close for Comfort

6.6

TV Series

Director

1982–1987

13 episodes

 

Hans Conried in The Partners (1971)

The Partners

6.9

TV Series

Director

1972

1 episode

 

The Governor & J.J. (1969)

The Governor & J.J.

7.0

TV Series

Director

1970

1 episode

 

Script and Continuity Department

Welcome Back, Kotter (1975)

Welcome Back, Kotter

7.1

TV Series

executive script consultant

1978–1979

23 episodes