Comedy writer David Davis known for co-creating 'Bob Newhart Show' passes away at 86

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Comedy writer David Davis, who co-created the indelible ensemble comedies 'The Bob Newhart Show' and 'Taxi,' passed away at 86 on November 4 in Los Angeles.

According to Variety, Davis' death was confirmed Saturday by his daughter, Samantha Davis-Friedman. Survivors also include his wife of many decades, 'Rhoda' star Julie Kavner, now best known as the voice of Marge Simpson.

In the MTM Television organisation, Davis was well-known for his work. Along with contributing to the creation of two sitcoms that are in the Hall of Fame, he wrote for 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and 'Rhoda.' Following his retirement from writing in 1979, Davis served as a consultant on a number of TV and movie productions, including the ABC TV series 'Phenom' and renowned films like 1987's 'Broadcast News' and the 1983 Oscar-winning 'Terms of Endearment.'

Davis, who was born in Brooklyn in 1936, began his career in television as a script supervisor on comedies like 'The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis' and the 'Gilligan's Island' pilot in the early 1960s. By the middle of the 1960s, he had advanced to associate producer, working on shows like Richard Benjamin and Paul Prentiss' 1967 romantic comedy 'He and She' and 'My Mother the Car,' frequently regarded as the pinnacle of ridiculous '60s sitcoms.

According to Variety, early in the 1970s, Davis captured footage showcasing Chicago's post-modernist construction boom for the show's iconic opening credits. In addition, he shot the iconic 'Rhoda's Wedding' episode of 'Rhoda,' a spinoff of 'Mary Tyler Moore,' from 1974, in which Valerie Harper raced through New York City wearing a wedding gown.

The 'Bob Newhart Show' was co-created by Davis and Newhart, who had a well-known humorous persona by that time. From 1972 through 1978, CBS broadcast the show. Davis then produced 'Taxi,"'which was broadcasted from 1978 to 1983. (at first on ABC and in its final season on NBC). Davis and fellow MTM writers, producers, and directors James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, and Ed Weinberger collaborated to create the acclaimed series.

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