The Late Great Penny Marshall

Penny Marshall, the director who made such films as Big (1988), Awakenings (1990), and A League of Their Own (1992) and the actress who played Myrna on The Odd Couple and Laverne DeFazio on Laverne  & Shirley, died Monday, December 17 2018, at the age of 75.

Penny Marshall was born Carole Penny Marshall on October 15 1943 in the Bronx. Her father, Tony Marshall, was a director of industrial films and later became a producer. Her mother, Marjorie, was a tap dance teacher and ran the Marjorie Marshall Dance School. Her older brother was Garry Marshall, who would go on to become a successful director and producer. Miss Marshall started taking tap dancing lessons when she was only three years old. With her mother's troupe of tap dancers, she appeared on both Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour and The Jackie Gleason Show. Despite her parents' professions, when she was young Penny Marshall had no desire to go into show business. In fact, she was a tomboy who loved baseball.

Penny Marshall studied mathematics and psychology at the University of New Mexico for two and half years. She afterwards worked at a variety of jobs to support herself. It was in 1967 that Penny Marshall moved to Los Angeles where her older brother Garry Marshall was already an established television writer who had written for such shows as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Make Room for Daddy, and The Lucy Show, and was the creator and producer of the short-lived sitcom Hey Landlord.

Penny Marshall made her film debut in Savage Seven in 1968. That same year she appeared in the film How Sweet It Is! (1968). She made her television debut as an actress in a guest appearance on My Friend Tony in 1969. In the late Sixties she guest starred on such shows as Then Came Bronson; That Girl; Love, American Style; Barefoot in the Park; and The Wonderful World of Disney. She appeared in the movies The Grasshopper (1970) and Where's Poppa? (1970).

It was in 1972 that her brother Garry Marshall cast her in the role of Oscar Madison's secretary Myrna Turner on The Odd Couple. She continued to appear on the show for the rest of its run. She later played Jane Dreyfuss on the short lived sitcom Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers. It was in 1975 that her brother cast her in a guest appearance on Happy Days as Laverne DeFazio, who along with Shirley Feeney (played by Cindy Williams), were blind dates for Richie (played by Ron Howard) and Fonzie (played by Henry Winkler). The two characters proved popular and after two more guest appearances on Happy Days received their spin-off, Laverne & Shirley. The sitcom eventually became the number one show on television.

In the Seventies Penny Marshall also guest starred on such shows as Getting Together, The Super, The Bob Newhart Show, Banacek, Chico and The Man, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Heavens, Blansky's Beauties (as Laverne), and Mork & Mindy (as Laverne). She appeared in the films How Come Nobody's on Our Side? (1974) and 1941 (1979). She began her directorial career in the late Seventies. She directed the pilot for the short-lived sitcom Working Stiffs, as well as three episodes of Laverne & Shirley.

It was after Laverne & Shirley in 1983 ended its run that Penny Marshall directed her first feature film, Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986). Her next film, Big (1988), would become a major success. It was the first film directed by a woman to gross more than $100 million. She closed the decade with Awakenings (1990), which earned nominations for the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (for Robert De Niro), and Best Adapted Screenplay. She provided the voice of Laverne in the Saturday morning cartoon Laverne & Shirley in the Army and subsequent cartoons. She guest starred on The New Show and The Simpsons. She directed an episode of The Tracey Ullman Show. She appeared in the film Movers & Shakers (1985) had a cameo in the film She's Having a Baby (1988).

In the Nineties Penny Marshall directed what might be her most successful film, A League of Their Own (1992). She also directed the movies Renaissance Man (1994) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). She directed an episode of the short-lived sitcom A League of Their Own, which was based on her movie of the same name. She appeared in the films The Hard Way (1991), Hocus Pocus (1993), Get Shorty (1995), and Special Delivery (1999). On television she reprised her role as Myrna in the reunion movie The Odd Couple: Together Again. She guest starred on the show Nash Bridges.

In the Naughts Miss Marshall directed her final film, Riding in Cars with Boys (2001). She directed episodes of the TV shows According to Jim and The United States of Tara, as well as the TV movie Women Without Men (2010). She guest starred on the shows Frasier, Bones, Entourage, Campus Ladies, and The Game. She appeared in the TV movie Women Without Men. She appeared in the films Stateside (2004), Everybody Wants to Be Italian (2007), Alice Upside Down (2007), and Blonde Ambition (2007).

In the Teens Penny Marshall was the voice of Sylvia Goldenberg on the animated TV series Murder Police. She guest starred on the shows The Life & Times of Tim, Mulaney, and the Teens version of The Odd Couple. She directed an episode of The United States of Tara. She appeared in the films New Year's Eve (2011) and Staten Island Summer (2011). She served as the narrator on the film Mother's Day (2016).

There can be no doubt that Penny Marshall was a major talent. I think it is safe to say that she will always be remembered as Laverne on Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Indeed, the character remains one of the most iconic television characters to emerge in the Seventies. That having said, I will remember her best as Myrna, Oscar Madison's much put-upon secretary, on The Odd Couple, as I am sure many others will as well. Penny Marshall had a gift for creating characters with which the average person could identify. These were women much like people one might know. If Laverne DeFalco and Myrna Turner remain beloved characters, it is because Penny Marshall's talent made them seem real.

Of course, while Penny Marshall was remarkable as an actress, she may have been even more talented as a director. She was a pioneer as a director, her career beginning at a time when very few women occupied the director's chair. Miss Marshall's gift as a director was in creating films with fully realised characters with whom audiences could identify. Even characters in her films that would seen at first glance as if they should be unlikeable, such as alcoholic manager Jimmy Dugan (played by Tom Hanks) in A League of Their Own, emerge as sympathetic. Indeed, Penny Marshall's films are infused with a humanity that was rare in movies made in the Eighties and Nineties and remains rare today. In Big, Josh ultimately has to stop being an adult, a situation wrought with both sadness and happiness. While none of Penny Marshall's films were tragedies, it was rare that one had a perfectly happy ending. If Penny Marshall paved the way for female directors today, it is because she was so very good as a director herself.

"The Christmas Song" by Nancy Wilson

Legendary jazz singer Nancy Wilson died on December 13 at the age of 81. Known as "Fancy Miss Nancy", "Sweet Nancy" and "The Girl with the Honey-Coated Voice", she released over sixty albums and numerous singles. She guest starred on nearly every major variety show and talk show on American television, as well a few game shows, and guest starred on such shows as I Spy, Room 222, Hawaii Five-O, Search, The F.B.I., Police Story, and The Parkers, among others. She won numerous awards through the years. Nancy Wilson was known for her warm, rich, sweet voice that was always evocative. Few singers possessed her talent.

In 2001 Nancy Wilson's Christmas album, A Nancy Wilson Christmas, was released. On the album Miss Wilson sang classic Christmas sons from "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" to "Christmas Time is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas. In honour of Miss Wilson and to kick the holiday season off here at A Shroud of Thoughts, here is her rendition of "The Christmas Song".

Sondra Locke R.I.P.

Sondra Locke, who appeared in such films as The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968), Willard (1971), andThe Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), died on November 3 2018 at the age of 74. The cause was a heart attack related to brain and bone cancer.

Sondra Locke was born Sandra Louise Smith in Madison County, Alabama. Her father had left before she was even born. She grew up in Shelbyville, Tennessee. She took the surname "Locke" from her stepfather, Alfred Locke. She attended Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, although she did not graduate from there. Sondra Locke worked for WSM-TV in Nashville for a few years. Miss Locke also did some modelling and acted in community theatre. Eventually she changed the spelling of her name to "Sondra" as she disliked being called "Sandy".

It was in 1967 that she won a nationwide talent search for the role of Mick Kelly in the screen adaptation of the Carson McCullers novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. For her role in the film she ultimately received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her next film was Cover Me Babe (1970).

In the Seventies Sondra Locke appeared in the films Willard (1971), A Reflection of Fear (1972), The Second Coming of Suzanne (1974), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Death Game (1977), The Shadow of Chikara (1977), The Gauntlet (1977),  Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Bronco Billy (1978), and Any Which Way You Can (1980). She made her television debut in a segment of Night Gallery in 1972. She guest starred on the TV shows The F.B.I., Kung Fu, Planet of the Apes, Barnaby Jones, Cannon, and Joe Forrester. She played the title role in the TV movie Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story.

In the Eighties Sondra Locke made her directorial debut with the film Ratboy (1986). The same decade she directed the film Impulse (1990). She appeared in the films Sudden Impact (1983) and Ratoby (1986). She guest starred on the TV shows Tales of the Unexpected and Amazing Stories.

In the Nineties Miss Locke directed the film Trading Favours (1997). She also directed the TV movies Death in Small Doses, which aired in 1995. In 2000 she returned to acting in the films Clean and Narrow (2000) and The Prophet's Game (2000). Her last appearance on film was in the film Ray Meets Helen (2017).

Sondra Locke was certainly a very talented actress. This was obvious from her debut as the classic music-loving Mick in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Over the years she would play a variety of roles, from Willard's friend and assistant Joan in Willard to the mousey daughter of an elderly Kansas settler in The Outlaw Josey Wales to a female vigilante in Sudden Impact. It must be pointed out that Sondra Locke directed feature films at a time when there were even fewer female directors than there are now. While neither her acting nor her directorial careers were very long, she displayed a good deal of talent in those years.

Thelma Ritter, Queen of Wisecracks

 (This blog post is part of the 7th Annual What a Character! Blogathon hosted by Outspoken & Freckled, Once Upon a Screen, and Paula's Cinema Club)

When it came to delivering wisecracks, perhaps no one was better than Thelma Ritter. Throughout her career she played a variety of sharp-tongued characters. While Thelma Ritter played characters from maids to millionaires, all of them had one thing in common. Every character she played had an acidic wit that they were not afraid to use. While her film career was not as long as that of some well-known character actors, her talent for wisecracks has insured that she has remained one of the most popular.

Thelma Ritter was born on February 14 1902 in Brooklyn, New York. She started acting while she was only in her teens, appearing with various stock companies. After high school Miss Ritter received formal training in acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her career would not be an overnight success by any stretch of the imagination. She would not make her debut on Broadway until 1926 when she appeared in The Shelf. She would not appear on Broadway again until 1931, when she appeared in In Times Square. 

In 1927 she married actor Joe Moran. During the Depression they worked primarily in Vaudeville and small theatres. Unfortunately, as the Depression continued, it became harder and harder to find work. Eventually Miss Ritter left the stage to raise their two children. Joe Moran gave up acting entirely to become an agent. Still later he would go into advertising.

Fortunately for movie goers everywhere, Thelma Ritter eventually returned to acting. Initially this was in radio. In the late Thirties she appeared on such radio shows as Big Town, The Aldrich Family, and Mr. District Attorney. The Forties would see Thelma Ritter with a very busy career in radio. She appeared in several episodes of the radio shows Over Here, Treasury Star Parade, and The Theatre Guild of the Air. Her radio career would continue into the Fifties, when she appeared several times on Lux Radio Theatre.

Of course, like many radio actors, Thelma Ritter would make the transition to film. Director George Season was one of Thelma Ritter's old family friends. He asked her to play a small, uncredited part in his latest film, Miracle on 34th Street. The part was that of a mother who had been looking for a toy fire engine at the various department stores in New York City, who receives assistance from Kris Kringle as Macy's Santa. While the role was not a particularly big one, it was memorable. In fact, after seeing her in the film, 20 Century Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck placed Miss Ritter under contract. 

It would not be long before Thelma Ritter's film career would take off. In A Letter to Three Wives (1949) she once more appeared in an uncredited role, although one with more screen time. She played the Phipps' tart-tongued servant Sadie, whose favourite pastimes are drinking beer and playing cards. Miss Ritter made an impression on A Letter to Three Wives director Joseph Mankiewicz, who would cast her in his film All About Eve (1950).  In the film she played Birdie, the maid to Broadway star Margo Channing (played by Bette Davis). Like most of Thelma Ritter's characters, Birdie has a sharp tongue. Birdie is also sharp witted. Of the characters, it is Birdie who realises Eve's true nature from the very beginning. For the part Thelma Ritter would be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

The Oscar nomination Thelma received for All About Eve would hardly be her last. In fact, she proved to be a favourite with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the early Fifties. Thelma Ritter followed All About Eve immediately with The Mating Season (1951). In the film Miss Ritter played Ellen McNulty, a former hamburger stand operator whose son has married a socialite. Due to some confusion on the part of daughter-in-law Maggie (played by Gene Tierney), Ellen finds herself masquerading as a servant in order to better get to know her in-laws. For her role in the film Thelma Ritter would receive a second Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. 

Thelma Ritter was  on a bit of a roll with regards to Oscar nominations in the early Fifties. After appearing in As Young as You Feel (1951) and The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951), Thelma Ritter appeared in With a Song in My Heart (1952), for which she received a third Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In the film Thelma Ritter played Clancy, a wisecracking nurse who cares for injured singer Jane Froman (played by Susan Hayward).

Thelma Ritter would receive a fourth Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in as many years for Pickup on South Street (1953).  Both film noir and an espionage thriller, Pickup on South Street was somewhat different from many of the films in which Miss Ritter appeared. What is more, her role is somewhat different from many she had played before as well. She played Moe Williams, ex-pickpocket and police informant (who is not below selling her information to criminals as well). While most of Thelma Ritter's characters had soft hearts beneath their acid tongues, for the most part Moe is an opportunist who looks out primarily for herself. That having been said, even Moe had her limits. Thelma Ritter's performance as Moe numbers among her best, particularly as it is fairly different from most of the roles she played.

After Pickup on South Street, Thelma Ritter would not receive any more Oscar nominations for a few years, although she would play one of her best known roles during that period. In Rear Window (1954) she played the insurance company nurse Stella, who is assigned to take care of photographer "Jeff" Jefferies (played by Jimmy Stewart) as he recovers from a broken leg. Like most of Thelma Ritter's characters, Stella is down-to-earth, plain spoken, and sharp tongued. While she wouldn't receive an Oscar nomination for the role, Stella remains one of the best known and arguably the most quintessential roles Miss Ritter ever played.

It was also during this period that Thelma Ritter began appearing on television. Her television debut would be as a guest on Lux Video Theatre in 1954. Her first actual role on television would be in an episode of The Best of Broadway in 1955. Over the next few years Thelma Ritter guest appeared on such shows as Goodyear Television Playhouse, Philco Television Playhouse, The 20th Century Fox Hour, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and The United States Steel Hour. In 1957 she returned to Broadway in the musical New Girl in Town. 

Of course, Thelma Ritter continued to appear in films. In addition to Rear Window, she also appeared in the movies Daddy Long Legs (1955), Lucy Gallant (1955), The Proud and Profane (1956), and A Hole in the Head (1959). It was her movie following A Hole in the Head for which she would receive her next Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Thelma Ritter played Alma, the alcoholic housekeeper of interior decorator Jan Morrow. Not only does Alma hit the bottle a bit too much, but she is also earthy and possessed of a great deal of common sense. It seems quite possible that Alma is Thelma Ritter's most famous character, with the possible exceptions of Birdie in All About Eve and Stella in Rear Window.

Thelma Ritter would follow Pillow Talk with a very different role in a very different movie. She played Isabelle Steers in The Misfits (1960), best known as the final film of both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. As might be expected, Isabelle makes her share of wisecracks and has a wry sense of humour. She is also gutsy and possesses a bit of a self-destructive streak. Indeed, she has been married multiple times. 

Thelma Ritter's sixth and final Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role would be for Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). In the film Thelma Ritter played a very different sort of role from those she was best known for. She played Elizabeth McCartney Stroud, the mother of prisoner Robert Stroud (played by Burt Lancaster). Mrs. Stroud is fiercely devoted to her son, to the point that she is overprotective of him. To a large degree Mrs. Stroud is a one-note character until later in the film, which makes it surprising that Miss Ritter was nominated for the role when she had played much better ones for which she was not nominated (The Misfits being an example). Regardless, Thelma Ritter is always entertaining and she makes the most of the role.  Sadly, along with Deborah Kerr and Glenn Close, Thelma Ritter holds the record for being the most nominated actress for an award in an acting category without a win.

Over the next few years Thelma Ritter would appear in several more notable films. In How the West Was Won (1963) she played Agatha Clegg, a woman travelling on a wagon train and looking for a husband. In For Love or Money (1963) she played millionaire Chloe Brasher, who hires a matchmaker for her three daughters. In Move Over, Darling (1963), she played Grace Arden, the mother of Nick Arden (played by James Garner), who remarried after his first wife (played by Doris Day) has been lost at sea only to turn up alive. Boeing, Boeing (1965) saw Thelma Ritter playing another housekeeper, this time Bertha, who must help her employer, journalist Bernard Lawrence (played by Tony Curtis), juggle his various girlfriends. 

While Thelma Ritter continued to appear in movies throughout the Sixties and would even return one last time to Broadway in the production UTBU in 1966, she would only make two appearances in dramatic TV shows during the decade. She guest starred on the obscure Western Frontier Circus in 1961. Her last ever appearance in a dramatic television show was playing fortune teller Madame Delphine Sagittarius on an episode of Wagon Train in 1962.

Thelma Ritter's last appearance in a feature film would be a cameo in What's So Bad About Feeling Good in 1968. She made her last appearance on television on January 23 1968 on The Jerry Lewis Show. It was only a little over a year later, on February 5 1969, that Thelma Ritter died from a heart attack at age 66.

While Thelma Ritter continues to be known for wisecracking characters, it must be pointed out that there was still a good deal of variety in those characters. While most of Thelma Ritter's characters were very intelligent, in Perfect Strangers (1950) she played scatterbrained juror Lena Fassler. In The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951), she played matchmaker Mae Swasey who, unlike many of her characters, is primarily motivated by money. She played Maude Young (essentially a fictional version of Molly Brown) in Titanic (1953). Over the years Thelma Ritter played everything from secretaries to a rancher to a millionaire, and while they all uttered wisecracks, their personalities could vary. What is more, while Thelma Ritter is probably best known for her work in comedy, she was equally adept at drama. After all, two of her best performances are in Pickup on South Street and The Misfits. While at 21 years Thelma's Ritter's film career was much shorter than those of many character actors, she remains well remembered and beloved because she was so very good. 

TCM Remembers 2018

Turner Classic Movies released their TCM Remembers for 2018 this afternoon. Of all the TCM Remembers (and I have seen all of them), this one was the most painful to watch. I always cry during TCM Remembers, but this time I totally broke down and I am still sobbing a half hour later. Quite simply, Turner Classic Movies included my dearest Vanessa Marquez in this year's TCM Remembers. Vanessa loved TCM so much, to the point that I am convinced that she was the biggest TCM fan I ever knew. Being included in TCM Remembers alongside classic movie stars she loved, not to mention Gary Kurtz (who produced Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back), is the highest possible honour she could have ever received.  I have to point out that Vanessa is the very first TCMParty member to ever be featured on TCM Remembers. I want to thank Turner Classic Movies for including the woman I love more than any other in my life.

Also included in this year's TCM Remembers are such luminaries as Dorothy Malone, Nanette Fabray, Rose Marie, Harlan Ellison, Stan Lee, and Burt Reynolds. As far as I can tell, they only missed two stars this year: Mary Carlisle (the last surviving WAMPAS Baby Star) and the great Fenella Fielding.

Facebook Needs to Fix Its "Your Year on Facebook" Review for Users

Every year in December Facebook rolls out its "Year in Review" feature (this year called "Your Year on Facebook") to its users. For those unfamiliar with the feature, it allows users to choose timeline posts, photos, and other things from the user's past year on Facebook, creating what could be described as a "highlights video" of the year. Now for many people this will means photos of a child's graduation, the birth of a grandchild, the first photos from a new job, or other happy events. Unfortunately, 2018 was not a particularly happy year for many people. In my case, 2018 will always be the year that my beloved Vanessa Marquez died. Given my post announcing her death got more reaction than any other post I made all year, one would think Facebook would let me choose it to be featured in my "Year on Facebook" video. After all, it not only addresses the defining moment of 2018 for me, but it addresses one of the most important events in my entire life. Sadly, Facebook does not include it among the posts I could choose to be featured in my "Your Year on Facebook" video. In fact, from all appearances, Facebook excluded any posts that received "sad" reactions from other users.

To say I am very angry with Facebook would be an understatement. To me it is as if they are saying that Vanessa's death was not the most important thing to happen during my year and that Vanessa did not matter. To me excluding any and all posts in which I addressed her death is an act of callousness and cruelty, however unintentional it was. I complained to Facebook several times and demanded that they fix it so that I could include one of the posts in which I addressed her death. I finally gave up, made a screenshot of one of the posts in which I address Vanessa's death, and uploaded it to my video as a photo. I really should not have had to have gone to all that trouble just to insure my "Your Year on Facebook" video was an accurate representation of what 2018 was for me.

Now in some ways I can understand why Facebook chose to exclude any posts about sad events in people's lives. Some of you might remember the controversy in 2014 when Facebook's "Year in Review" included a photo of an individual's recently deceased daughter, a photo of an individual's dog who had died that year, and a photo of a person's apartment that had burned, among others. Many of these people were upset that Facebook's algorithm chose to feature these events in their "Year in Review" videos, reminding them of tragedies that had occurred in their past year. I can certainly understand that. Everyone grieves in their own way. That having been said, the key words are "Facebook's algorithm chose to feature these events". It seems to me that Facebook could set their algorithm up so that it would not automatically feature sad posts in the initial editing stage of the video, but make it so that those posts would still be available for those of us who do want to feature them in our "Your Year on Facebook" videos.

Now, as I said, I can understand why some people might not want to be reminded of the tragedies that have happened in their past year, but I am not one of those people. I wanted to acknowledge in my "Your Year in Facebook" video that I lost the dearest person in my life. To me, failing to acknowledge Vanessa's death in my "Your Year on Facebook" video would be inherently dishonest. It would be a misrepresentation of what 2018 has been for me. While I managed to include one of the posts in which I reference Vanessa's death in my "Your Year on Facebook" video by taking a screenshot of it, I should not have had to. I should have been able to choose one of the posts in which I acknowledged her death as the post featured in the video. I am hoping that Facebook will yet fix my "Your Year on Facebook" video so that I can include the relevant post. I have always faced my grief head on and I am not going to stop because Facebook wants to pretend 2018 was all sunshine and lollipops for me.

Godspeed John D. F. Black

John D. F. Black, the screenwriter who wrote episodes of such shows as Lawman, Star Trek, and Hawaii Five-O as well as co-writing the screenplay for the movie Shaft, died November 29 2018. He was 85 years old.

John D. F. Black was born on December 30 1932. His first screenplay was for the film The Unearthly (1957), using the pen name Geoffrey Dennis. His first teleplay was for an episode of Surfside 6 in 1961. During the Sixties he wrote one of the most notable episodes of Star Trek, "The Naked Time", for which he was nominated for a Hugo Award. He also served as an associate producer on the show in its first season. He wrote several episodes of the shows Lawman, Mr. Novak, Laredo, Hawaii Five-O, and Room 222. He also wrote episodes of the shows Have Gun--Will Travel, The Untouchables, Combat!, The Fugitive, Run for Your Life, Cimarron Strip, Insight, The High Chaparral, The F.B.I., The Virginian, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He wrote the screenplays for the movies Gunfight in Abilene (1967), Nobody's Perfect (1968), and Three Guns for Texas.

In the Seventies he co-wrote the screenplay for Shaft (1971) with John Shaft's creator Ernest Tidyman. He also wrote the movies The Carey Treatment (1972), Trouble Man (1972) and Survival (1976). He wrote several episodes of Room 222, Hawaii Five-O, and Charlie's Angels. He also wrote episodes of The Bill Cosby Show, Getting Together, Jigsaw John, The Streets of San Francisco, Delvecchio, and The Man From Atlantis. He wrote the TV movies Thief; Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate; The Fuzz Brothers; Wonder Woman; and The Clone Master.

In the Eighties he wrote episodes of Hell Town; Star Trek: The Next Generation; and Murder, She Wrote.

A good argument can be made that John D. F. Black was one of the best television writers of the Sixties and Seventies. He had a talent for grasping the characters of a TV show with only a single episode. "The Naked Time" is a perfect example of this talent, containing as it does a character-defining scene for Mr. Spock. Over the years he wrote some of the best episodes of several classic TV shows, from science fiction shows to dramas to sitcoms. If John D. F. Black was very much in demand as a television writer, it was because he was just so good at it.