| Susan Harris | |
| Birth Name: | Susan Spivak |
| Birth Date: | 28 October 1940 |
| Birth Place: | Mount Vernon, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Producer, writer |
| Yearsactive: | 1970–1999 |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: | Sam Harris, Oliver Witt |
| Relatives: | Marion Segal Freed (step-sister) |
Susan Harris (née Spivak; born October 28, 1940) is an American former television writer and producer who created the Emmy Award-winning sitcoms Soap (1977–1981) and The Golden Girls (1985–1992).[1] Between 1975 and 1998, Harris was one of the most prolific television writers, creating 13 comedy series.[2] In 2011, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
The first script Harris sold was for Then Came Bronson. She then wrote for Love, American Style, All in the Family, The Partridge Family and the TV adaptation of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Her abortion episode for the Bea Arthur-starring series Maude in the 1970s received great acclaim. She worked with Arthur again in the 1980s when Arthur took one of the lead roles in The Golden Girls.
Harris created many television series: Fay, Soap, Loves Me, Loves Me Not, Benson, It Takes Two, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Nurses, Good & Evil, The Golden Palace and The Secret Lives of Men.[3] Her most financially successful show was The Golden Girls.
Harris was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and her symptoms affected her ability to participate in the production of The Golden Girls. In an episode of that show titled "Sick and Tired" (1989), Harris wrote some of her struggles into the storyline where Bea Arthur's character Dorothy Zbornak was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. It later turned out Harris had an adrenal issue but she wrote the episode as "my revenge script for all the people out there who had a disease like that".[4]
Harris formed the production company Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions with Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas.
Harris married television producer Paul Junger Witt on September 18, 1983; he co-produced all the shows she created. He died in 2018. She was married from 1965 to 1969 to actor Berkeley Harris; the couple's son is author, and neuroscientist Sam Harris. She lives in suburban Los Angeles. Harris was the step-sister to American film producer, editor and screenwriter Marion Segal Freed.[5]
She was honored with the Writers' Guild's Paddy Chayefsky Award in 2005 and inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2011.[6]
Susan is the mother of American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host Sam Harris.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Then Came Bronson | writer | Episode: "Then Came Bronson" | |
| 1970 | Barefoot in the Park | writer | Episode: "You'll Never Walk Alone" | |
| 1971–1973 | All in the Family | writer | 3 episodes | |
| 1971 | The Courtship of Eddie's Father | writer | Episode: "To Catch a Thief" | |
| 1971 | The Good Life | writer | 3 episodes | |
| 1972–1973 | The Partridge Family | writer | 3 episodes | |
| 1972–1973 | Maude | writer | 4 episodes | |
| 1973 | Love, American Style | writer | 2 episodes | |
| 1975–1976 | Fay | creator | 10 episodes | |
| 1977 | Loves Me, Loves Me Not | creator | 6 episodes | |
| 1977–1981 | Soap | creator, executive producer | 87 episodes Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series (1978, 1980–81) | |
| 1979–1986 | Benson | creator, executive producer | 158 episodes | |
| 1980–1981 | I'm a Big Girl Now | creator, executive producer | 19 episodes | |
| 1982–1983 | It Takes Two | creator, executive producer | 22 episodes Nominated — Humanitas Prize for 30 Minute Network or Syndicated Television | |
| 1985 | Hail to the Chief | creator, executive producer | 7 episodes | |
| 1985–1992 | The Golden Girls | creator, executive producer | 177 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series (1987) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series (1988-1991) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (1986) | |
| 1988–1995 | Empty Nest | creator, executive producer | 170 episodes | |
| 1991 | Good & Evil | creator, executive producer | 6 episodes | |
| 1991–1994 | Nurses | creator, executive producer | 68 episodes | |
| 1992–1993 | The Golden Palace | creator, executive producer | 24 episodes | |
| 1998–1999 | The Secret Lives of Men | creator, executive producer | 13 episodes |