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David Lloyd, Comedy Genius & Emmy-Winning Writer Of CHEERS, TAXI & THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, Joins Chuckles In Funny Heaven
I am – Hercules!!
Multiple Emmy-winning writer and comedy colossus David Lloyd, whose name is on teleplays for some of the best episodes of some of the best television series across four decades, passed away Wednesday.
Because he’s dead now, the obituaries are obligated to point out that Lloyd famously won one of those Emmys for writing “Chuckles Bites The Dust,” an episode many consider the funniest of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
He was Emmy-nominated nine times for writing:
THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
“Lou and That Woman” (1975)
“Chuckles Bites The Dust” (1976)
“Mary Midwife” (1977)
“The Last Show” (1977)
RHODA
“Rhoda’s Wedding” (1975)
TAXI
“Elaine’s Strange Triangle” (1981)
CHEERS
“Diane’s Perfect Date” (1982)
“Homicidal Ham” (1984)
“Sam Turns The Other Cheek” (1982)
He was nominated four more times as one of the producers of “Frasier.”
According to IMDb, he wrote or co-wrote 31 episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” three episodes of “The Bob Newhart Show,” five episodes of “Rhoda,” two episodes of the hugely underrated and largely forgotten “Tony Randall Show,” seven episodes of the underrated and largely forgotten “The Associates,” six episodes of “Lou Grant,” 12 episodes of “Taxi,” 25 episodes of “Cheers” and 10 episodes of “Frasier.”
These represent only nine of the 24 series he scripted between 1963 and 2001. He wrote for “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” between 1963 and 1970, when it was still shot in New York. Without using a typewriter, he created fellow sitcom writers Chris Lloyd (“Modern Family”) and Stephen Lloyd (“How I Met Your Mother”).
My heart always leapt a little when I saw his name at the top of “Cheers” episode; it always signified a stellar half-hour. The list of the “Cheers” episodes on which Lloyd was credited as writer:
“The Spy Who Came in for a Cold One” (1982) Cliff believes a quiet stranger may be a spy.
“Diane's Perfect Date” (1983) Sam unwittingly fixes Diane up with an ex-con.
“Homicidal Ham” (1983) Diane tries to help a murderous actor.
“Just Three Friends” (1983) Diane suspects her hot visiting friend (Markie Post) is coming on to Sam.
“Cliff's Rocky Moment” (1984) Cliff’s cowardice is gauged when a stranger challenges him to a fight.
“Coach Buries a Grudge” (1984) Coach becomes furious when he learns his recently deceased friend once had an affair with Coach’s wife.
“Sam Turns the Other Cheek” (1984) Sam lies about how a bullet became embedded in his hinder.
“Diane Meets Mom” (1984) Frasier’s mother nonchalantly threatens to kill Diane if she doesn’t leave her son.
“Diane's Allergy” (1984) When Diane moves in with Frasier she comes to suspect she may be allergic to him.
“The Mail Goes to Jail” (1985) After the cops catch Norm delivering mail for an ailing Cliff, Cliff sells Norm down the river.
“Diane's Nightmare” (1985) Diane learns the actor who tried to strangle her to death has escaped.
“Take My Shirt... Please?” (1986) Sam is devastated when no one bids on his baseball jersey during a charity auction.
“Bidding on the Boys” (1987) Sam and Woody are not excited about who wins them in a charity auction.
“A Kiss Is Still a Kiss” (1987) Rebecca recruits Sam to prove to her boss she’s not a lesbian.
“Let Sleeping Drakes Lie” (1988) A snooping Rebecca finds herself trapped in her boss’ home.
“How to Recede in Business” (1988) New management appoints Sam as Rebecca’s boss.
“Send in the Crane” (1989) Frasier (Kelsey Grammer just before he became Sideshow Bob) must fill in as a party clown as Sam finds himself hitting on the daughter of an old girlfriend.
“Sisterly Love” (1989) Sam tries to bring Rebecca together with her estranged movie-star sister (Marcia Cross).
“The Visiting Lecher” (1989) A married expert on infidelity hits on Rebecca.
“The Stork Brings a Crane” (1989) Lilith goes into labor during the bar’s 100th anniversary celebration.
“Sam Ahoy” (1989) Sam, Norm and Carla discover the yacht they’re racing has a bomb on board.
“50-50 Carla” (1990) Carla agrees to split her inheritance with Eddie LeBec’s other widow before she finds out how big it is, and Woody wrestles with his nude scene in a stage production of “Hair.”
“An Old-Fashioned Wedding” (1992) Chaos ensues when the minister for Woody’s wedding dies from a heart attack and has to be hidden in a kitchen dumbwaiter.
“Love Me, Love My Car” (1992) Sam tries to seduce the new widow (Dana Delany) who inherited his beloved Corvette.
“Rebecca Gaines, Rebecca Loses” (1993) As everyone else wonders if Cliff murdered his own mother, Rebecca wonders if Kelly’s rich dad wants to bone her.
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He will be missed...sitcoms these days totally suck.
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That's pretty close to a list of my favorite CHEERS episodes. Also loved his "Louie Bumps into an Old Lady" for TAXI.
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..t.v. shows. Especially w/ "Taxi" and "Cheers". I remember always seeing that name and thinking Wow! this guy knows his shit..thanks for the good times Mr.Lloyd..you will be missed..
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Considering his list of accomplishments and contributions to several of my favorite sitcoms of all time it doesn't surprise me that his progeny is responsible for my two favorite currently on the air at the moment.
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Soon Hollywood will have lost all talent and become a creative wasteland.
Soon. -
And the one I paused to check out AICN is another Lloyd episode. S5 of MTM is a jewel, and I can't wait for the final two seasons to come out so I can properly watch "Chuckles."
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...is in my top five Taxi eps.
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That is a great list of episodes from my all-time favorite sitcom. The three-episode "Andy Andy" arc was especially stellar, with "Diane's Nightmare" in my all-time top five episodes. (I'm not forgetting Andy Andy's return very late in the series, but that was a one-off - but still very funny - pre-credits joke.) There are also several episodes early in the series that David Lloyd wrote that went a long way toward establishing the foundations of the characters that we came to love. Thank you, David Lloyd, and sincere condolences to your friends and family.
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With his penis, he created fellow sitcom writers Chris Lloyd (“Modern Family”) and Stephen Lloyd (“How I Met Your Mother”).
You want to explain A) how that ended up in an Obit' and B) if you even have the nerve to refer to yourself as a journalist?
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lighten up. it's a humorous way to note that his sons are both comedy writers. and the guy was a COMEDY WRITER. you think he'd be offended by a light joke?
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Kindly join us in celebrating this man's life and work and quit getting all hot and bothered over the word "penis." Unlike your fellow talkbackers, you are focusing on the WRONG THING.
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I remember that, really enjoyed it when it was on and totally forgot it existed.
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Not all the time but frequently. Anyone who's ever had a penis will agree that it is never far from their mind, and if they work from home then it's never far from their hand. David Lloyd would respect that, and so ought everyone else. Let us celebrate his work and his penis in equal measure.
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to point out that someone had and used a penis. Quite the opposite.
It's interesting to note how much comedy the man seemed to find in the topic of death. Lloyd was both a great wit and a very dark one. He will be missed! -
AICN, fix this mistake. Come on.
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It's been an AICN talkback tradition since 2002 when Zombie Bruce Paltrow first posted, and has carried through to the present with Zombie David Carradine. Sometimes when a person of particular significance in the entertainment industry dies, a talkbacker will pick up the fallen standard and assume the user ID "Zombie (insert Dead Person's name)" as a tribute.Obviously, not everyone merits this ticket to AICN Valhalla ("Zombie Hunter S. Thompson" would have been redundant) and some people are just flat-out off limits (the heretical idea of "Zombie Chuck Heston").The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote in his memoirs "If I come back as a zombie after I die, one of you motherfuckers better put me down BUT quick." Here at AICN, we talkbackers offer safe haven for dead celebrities in the form of virtual zombie perpetuity. Let's face it: zombiedom with that decaying flesh and hunger for brains and a redneck posse gunning for you can get messy. Our way is both sanitary... and respectful.
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Excellent work on this obit, Hercules. I love many of those sitcoms (especially Cheers and Frasier), and enjoyed reading the summaries of the episodes Lloyd wrote. I believe I'm going to revisit his work over the next few weeks and check out episodes I've not seen (like the Mary Tyler Moore ones).
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Did this episode inspire the Simpsons folks to make Kelsey into sideshow Bob or was that just a coincidence?
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...and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear...
Godspeed, sir... you were one of the best! -
One of the ten best network comedies ever for sure, and it was consistently funny throughout its run. It's very hard to remember an episode that didn't make me laugh at least once or twice. A long run full of sparkling examples of great comedy writing, many of them from Mr. Lloyd. RIP.
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Cheers was one of the all time greatest. I own every season and watch it often still......and it never fails to make me laugh no matter how well I know the episode I`m watching. This guy wrote some of the best. This is a real loss to entertainment.
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They funeral scenes DESTROYS ME every time! I really like the part where they are all laughing in Mr Grants office and Ted walks in and asks whats so funny? they reply "chuckles!" epic.
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Come on! This guy was a riot on McCale's Navy! The man was a legend in the Magic world. Considered by many including David Copperfield to be a pioneer in Comedy/Magic! Show the man some love!!!
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Damn, totally missed this news. RIP Carl.
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Especially the one with Marcia Cross as Rebecca's sister that Sam tries to sleep with. That was hilarious.
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I shed a tear everytime that ep comes on. if I remember correctly, Jim's wealthy dad dies, and despite the will leaving everything to him, he's only given a steamer trunk of junk. In it is his dads 'fat guy suit' and he finds a copy of Stevie Wonders "You are the Apple of my Eye" in it and the ep ends as Jim listens to the song.
for a silly 3 camera sit-com, it is an absolutely beautiful episode. -
One of my favourite Cheers episodes ever. Great guest role by Derek McGrath as Andy Andy, the quick & clever writing Cheers was famous for (Coach's "that's the only line from Shakespeare I ever understood" is beautifully delivered), and the physical comedy that was always so perfectly done (Norm sitting on Andy Andy to subdue him).
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I'm referring to (copied the wrong description), not "Diane's Perfect Date" (although I thoroughly enjoy that one too).
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During the Cheers episode "Just Three Friends" when Diane explodes at Sam and Markie. A perfectly constructed moment. See it, watch how Carla plants the seed and how the whole show leads to this one moment. I'm laughing right now just remembering it. RIP James
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RIP DL. Chuckles the Clown, indeed. I saw that episode when I was 5 and I'd never laughed harder at anything in my life. My sister came in and saw me rollng on the floor, and then she started laughing, until we both couldn't stop, and then my Dad came in, and the same thing happened, until tears were rolling down our cheeks. It was the first good laugh we'd since mom died earlier that year.
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Those are some stellar episodes of Cheers, the best sitcom ever for my money. "Cliff's Rocky Moment" and "Coach Buries a Grudge" are two of my personal favorites. It's a rare talent that can stay consistently funny for the entire 11-season run of one show. Cheers to you and rest in peace, Mr. Lloyd.
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Because I don't like them? Because they taste funny when you're 9? Oh wait, now it doesn't seem so offensive, does it? You're welcome.
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3 of my favorite episodes of Frasier, including "High Holidays" where Niles accidentally gets his father stoned on a brownie which leads to the infamous "talking dog" - as well as "Goodnight Seattle" which was probably the finest send off of a sitcom every written.
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His son wrote those...
But he did write "Ham Radio" which was probably one of the top 5. -
Abe Vigoda will outlive everyone!! All hail the great Abe Vigoda!!
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Reading that list, considering so many of the things he wrote or cowrote had dark humor, involving death (the MTM ep being the best example and what as noted he is known most for) or criminal behavior, I'm guessing he'd be fine with penis comments in an obit.
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