Bob Ellison, Emmy Award-winning writer for ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ dead at 91

LOS ANGELES — Bob Ellison, a two-time Emmy Award winner who wrote for the “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” died April 8. He was 91.

>> Read more trending news

Ellison died at a Los Angeles hospital, his business manager, Malcolm Orland, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“He was a sweetheart and so good at what he did,” Orland told the entertainment news website.

Ellison wrote or produced several specials that starred Julie Andrews and Burt Bacharach, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He also co-developed the sitcom “Dear John,” which ran from 1988 to 1992.

Ellison was nominated for five Emmy Awards. In 1971 he won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music, for “Singer Presents Burt Bacharach.” In 1977 he won his second Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” sharing the honor in the series finale, “The Last Show.”

Ellison wrote 15 episodes and was an executive story editor during the final two seasons of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from 1975 to 1977, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He also worked on the show’s two spinoffs, “Rhoda” and “Phyllis,” and produced “The Betty White Show.”

Ellison was also a consultant on “Cheers,” “Wings” and “Becker,” the entertainment news website reported.

He had a similar role on “Caroline in the City,” “Andy Controls the Universe,” “Mr. President,” “Bob,” “Amen,” “Angie” and “Best of the West.”

Born in New York City on Feb. 25, 1933, Ellison graduated from the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and began his career in show business as a trombone player in the Catskills, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ellison’s survivors include his wife, Elaine. They had no children.

© Cox Media Group