Jerry Belson American screenwriter, director and producer of Hollywood films Date of Birth: 08.07.1938 Country: USA

Biography of Jerry Belson

Jerry Belson was an American screenwriter, director, and producer of Hollywood films. His film career spanned over forty years, during which he was awarded three Primetime Emmy Awards. He received the awards for "The Tracey Ullman Show" in 1989 and 1990, as well as for the series "Tracey Takes On..." in 1997.

Belson was born on July 8, 1938, in Los Angeles, California. He had a sister named Monica Johnson, who was also a screenwriter. At a certain point in his career, Belson was invited to join Steven Spielberg's team of writers. He contributed to the scripts of the science fiction film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and the fantasy film "Always." Jerry was also responsible for the plots of several episodes of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and the series "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." and "I Spy."

In the early 1960s, Belson developed scripts for television sitcoms alongside his colleague at the time, Garry Marshall. Simultaneously, he created stories for the comic book publisher "Gold Key Comics." He also played a role in the success of "The Drew Carey Show," "The Norm Show," and "The Tracey Ullman Show."

In 2006, the cable channel TV Land presented a documentary film called "The 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases," featuring a compilation of memorable lines from various TV shows. Television producer and screenwriter Lowell Ganz paid tribute to one of Belson's clever phrases, which was included in the script of the series "The Odd Couple," in the third season, episode "My Strife in Court." In the iconic line, Belson plays with the word "assume," breaking it down into "ass," "u," and "me." The phrase can be translated as "Never assume, because when you assume, you make an ass of u and me." It is particularly interesting for those familiar with the English language.

Jerry Belson passed away on October 10, 2006, in Los Angeles after a long battle with prostate cancer. His sister Monica also succumbed to esophageal cancer on November 1, 2010.