| Herb Meadow | |
| Birth Name: | Herman Meadow |
| Birth Date: | 27 May 1911 |
| Birth Place: | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, United States |
| Occupation: | Writer, producer |
Herb Meadow (May 27, 1911 – March 1, 1995) was an American television producer and writer, born 1911 in Brooklyn, New York, best known for creating such series as Have Gun – Will Travel.
Meadow grew up in Brooklyn. A ninth-grade school dropout, he was a runner for a gangster and bootlegger during the prohibition era in addition to selling sheet music and jewelry and working at an art supply business.[1]
When he was in his 20s, Meadow worked in radio in New York. In 1933, he became an actor, announcer, and writer at WCNW in New York.[2] He later became a writer in the old-time radio era, creating 350 scripts for the soap opera Valiant Lady.
Meadow worked in Hollywood for more than 50 years. At age 83, he was still active, writing a screenplay that resulted in a $500,000 contract.[3] He wrote at least 37 feature-length film scripts, of which a dozen were produced, including The Redhead from Wyoming, The Strange Woman, Stranger on Horseback,[4] and The Unguarded Moment.[5]
On television, in addition to Have Gun – Will Travel, Meadow created and wrote for The Man from Blackhawk[6] and developed the Arrest and Trial series.
Despite his many scripts, he would write only one book, Uncertain Glory, a novelization of the screenplay by László Vadnay & Max Brand from the screenstory by Brand and Joe May (Grosset and Dunlap, 1944).
Meadow was married twice. His first wife died in 1980, ending their 43-year marriage. His second marriage ended in divorce after six years, but the two continued to cohabit.
Meadow died of a heart attack in 1995 in Los Angeles.[7] [8] [9] [10]