Elroy Schwartz (June 23, 1923 – June 14, 2013) was an American comedy and television writer. Schwartz wrote for some of the best known comedians of the era, including Lucille Ball, Groucho Marx, and Bob Hope. Schwartz was also one of the head writers for Gilligan's Island, a CBS sitcom which was created by his late brother, Sherwood Schwartz.Schwartz was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on June 23, 1923. His brothers included Al Schwartz and Sherwood Schwartz. He moved to the Bronx with his family, where he attended school. He attended New York University and enlisted in the United States Air Force as an NYU student. He spent two years in the Air Force before moving to Los Angeles with his family. He wrote for radio in California and then moved back to New York City. He wrote for game shows in New York during the 1950s before returning to Los Angeles.Schwartz screenwriting credits included numerous television sitcoms, game shows, and dramas. He wrote scripts and other material for You Bet Your Life, a quiz show hosted by Groucho Marx, as well as The $64,000 Question during the 1950s. His work on television dramas included The Six Million Dollar Man and It Takes a Thief during the late 1960s and 1970s.Schwartz is perhaps best known for his work as a principal writer for Gilligan's Island, which aired from 1964 to 1967. In 1964, Schwartz's brother, Sherwood Schwartz, hired his brother to write and edit the scripts for his upcoming series about a group of seven castaways stranded on an island after a "three-hour tour." Elroy Schwartz noted in a later interview that many of the show's writers didn't think the sitcom would work due to its unrealistic premise, saying "They couldn’t believe you could get 30 episodes out of seven people stranded on an island." In addition to the series, Schwartz also penned the scripts for several of Gilligan's Islands television movies, including the two-part 1978 film, Rescue from Gilligan's Island, The Castaways on Gilligan's Island in 1979, and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island in 1981.Outside of television, Schwartz was a licensed hypnotherapist with an office in Palm Springs. He also pursued in past life regressions, painted, and authored several non-fiction and fictional books.Schwartz was a longtime resident of Palm Springs, California for more than thirty years. He died from complications of surgery at Odyssey House in Palm Desert, California, on June 14, 2013, at the age of 89 (just nine days short of his 90th birthday). He was survived by his wife of 67 years, Beryl, their two daughters, Nan Schwartz and Jill Moramarco, and one granddaughter.
Co-wrote (with Austin Kalish) the original pilot episode of Gilligan's Island (1964). This historic pilot remained lost until TBS aired it, for the first time ever, it on October 16, 1992.
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Baywatch
1994
TV Series written by - 1 episode
Gilligan's Island
1964-1992
TV Series written by - 13 episodes
The Munsters Today
1988
TV Series written by - 1 episode
Crazy Like a Fox
1985
TV Series written by - 1 episode
The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island
1981
TV Movie
The Castaways on Gilligan's Island
1979
TV Movie
Rescue from Gilligan's Island
1978
TV Movie written by
Good Times
1977
TV Series written by - 1 episode
Wonder Woman
1977
TV Series written by - 1 episode
The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West
1976
written by
Death Is Not the End
1976
The Six Million Dollar Man
TV Series written by - 3 episodes, 1974 - 1975 writer - 2 episodes, 1974
Police Woman
1975
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Harry O
1974
TV Series written by - 1 episode
Dusty's Trail
TV Series created by - 27 episodes, 1973 - 1974 story - 1 episode, 1973
Money to Burn
1973
TV Movie
The Alpha Caper
1973
TV Movie
Mod Squad
1971-1973
TV Series written by - 2 episodes
The Brady Bunch
1969-1973
TV Series written by - 9 episodes
The New Temperatures Rising Show
1972
TV Series written by - 1 episode
The Virginian
1971
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Lidsville
1971
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Family Affair
1966-1970
TV Series written by - 6 episodes
It Takes a Thief
1968-1969
TV Series written by - 2 episodes
Mayberry R.F.D.
1968-1969
TV Series written by - 2 episodes
The Flying Nun
1968
TV Series written by - 1 episode
Get Smart
1967
TV Series written by - 1 episode
Green Acres
1966-1967
TV Series written by - 2 episodes
My Three Sons
TV Series written by - 8 episodes, 1961 - 1967 story - 1 episode, 1965 teleplay & story - 1 episode, 1963
It's About Time
1966-1967
TV Series writer - 2 episodes
The Lucy Show
1966
TV Series written by - 3 episodes
McHale's Navy
1965-1966
TV Series written by - 3 episodes
The Addams Family
TV Series written by - 1 episode, 1966 story - 1 episode, 1965 teleplay - 1 episode, 1965
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1965
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Broadside
TV Series 3 episodes, 1965 written by - 1 episode, 1965
My Favorite Martian
1963-1964
TV Series written by - 3 episodes
Glynis
1963
TV Series written by - 1 episode
The Donna Reed Show
1962
TV Series 1 episode
National Velvet
1962
TV Series 1 episode
Bachelor Father
1961
TV Series teleplay & story - 1 episode
The Chevy Show
1961
TV Series 1 episode
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV Series 1 episode, 1960 writer - 1 episode, 1961