Sherry Coben, the prolific writer-producer behind the Emmy-winning 1980s sitcom Kate & Allie, passed away on October 16. Coben succumbed to an undisclosed type of cancer in New Milford, N.J., per Variety. She was 71.
Videos by Suggest
Coben began her television career in the art department at KYW-TV in Philadelphia, where she contributed to graphics, set design, illustrations, and animations for local programming, as well as The Mike Douglas Show.
After moving to New York City, she worked freelance for TV shows and magazines. Her break as a writer came on the children’s program Hot Hero Sandwich, for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She went on to write for the ABC soap opera Ryan’s Hope.
In 1984, she created the CBS sitcom Kate & Allie, featuring Jane Curtin and Susan St. James as divorced mothers facing the challenges of raising their kids together. The show won several Emmy Awards during its run. St. James played the more energetic mother, while Curtin, who won two consecutive Emmys for her role, portrayed the more conservative one.
Kate & Allie ran for six successful seasons on CBS from 1984 to 1989. The sitcom was filmed in the iconic Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, which now serves as the venue for The Late Show.
Sherry Coben Recently Reflected on the Success of ‘Kate & Allie’
Meanwhile, Coben reflected on Kate & Allie’s accomplishments in 2017.
“Three decades have passed, and it’s still rare for network execs to see there’s a huge audience hungry for shows about women expressly for women. You can count on two hands the number of female-driven shows since. I’d hoped to set more of a trend,” she admitted to The Hollywood Reporter.
Coben also served as a writer-producer for the CBS series Bailey Kipper’s P.O.V. and created the web series Little Women, Big Cars. Additionally, she penned the screenplay for the 1985 TV movie Love, Long Distance, which explored the challenges faced by a couple in a commuter marriage.
Coben is survived by her husband, film editor Patrick McMahon, along with her daughters, Kaley and Jama McMahon.