Howard Leeds

While there are television critics who would define the work of Howard Leeds as unadulterated pap and lowest common denominator entertainment, it is undeniable that the writer/producer has had his thumb on the pulse of the American TV audience's taste for over 50 years. He started out as a child actor and worked his way up through the ranks of MGM Studios, where he learned the business from the inside. Among his first writing jobs was for the sitcom "Meet Millie" and "The George Gobel Show" in the 1950s. His prolific output kicked in during the 1960s when he wrote for such hits as "My Three Sons," and "Bewitched." He turned to producing around this time as well with the shows "My Living Doll," "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir," and, most successfully, "The Brady Bunch." He sensed the wants of American family audiences and hit his stride in the 1980s when he produced and/or wrote nearly 400 episodes for such kindred-comedy-with-a-twist hits as "Different Strokes," "Silver Spoons," and "The Facts of Life." Leeds was executive producer and writer for the campy cult hit "Small Wonder,"a show that garnered a huge underground following, about a young girl robot (shades of the aforementioned "Doll") living with the inventor's suburban family.