Cy Chermak
{{Short description|American producer and screenwriter (1929–2021)}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Cy Chermak
|birth_name = Seymour Chermak
|birth_date = {{birth date|1929|09|20}}
|birth_place = Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2021|01|29|1929|09|20}}
|death_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
|occupation = Producer, screenwriter
|years_active = 1940s–2021
|spouse = {{marriage|Francine Carroll|1955|2007|end=died.}}
|children = 3
}}
Seymour "Cy" Chermak (September 20, 1929 – January 29, 2021) was an American producer and screenwriter. He is best known for producing CHiPs, Ironside, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
Career
Chermak started his career at the age of 17.{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/entertainment/cy-chermak-chips-ironside-producer-214819715.html|title=Cy Chermak, 'CHiPs' and 'Ironside' Producer, Dies at 91|website=yahoo.com|access-date=April 23, 2021}}
From 1950 - 1954, Chermak was head writer for the new DuMont Television Network crime drama television series Rocky King Detective.{{Cite web |last=Ferme |first=Antonio |date=2021-02-01 |title=Cy Chermak, ‘CHiPs’ and ‘Ironside’ Producer, Dies at 91 |url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/cy-chermak-dead-chips-producer-1234897633/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} He wrote the screenplay for the 1959 film 4D Man with Theodore Simonson.{{Cite web |last=Says |first=Cliff |date=2017-10-21 |title=4D Man (1959) |url=https://midnitereviews.com/2017/10/4d-man-1959/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=Midnite Reviews |language=en-US}}
In 1967, he became an executive producer for the new NBC crime drama television series Ironside.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/178654538/|title=Longview News-Journal from Longview, Texas - Page 55|work=Longview News-Journal|date=October 15, 1967|page=55}}{{Cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/newspage/162876535/|title=The Journal News from White Plains, New York - Page 38|work=The Journal News|date=September 21, 1967|page=38}}
In 1971, Chermak was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his work on Ironside.{{Cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/cy-chermak|title=Cy Chermak|access-date=April 23, 2021}} He would go on to write and produce several television programs, including Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Barbary Court, Murder at the World Series, {{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/495560503/|title=The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada - 55|work=The Leader-Post|date=September 19, 1975|page=55}} and spinoff television series Amy Prentiss..{{Cite news|url=https://newspaper.com/newspage/261762048/|title=The Honolulu Advertiser from Honolulu, Hawaii - 181|work=The Honolulu Advertiser|date=December 8, 1974|page=181}} In 1978, he became a producer for the new NBC series CHiPs. He would go on to produce 125 episodes of the show.{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/entertainment/cy-chermak-chips-ironside-producer-214819715.html|title=Cy Chermak, 'CHiPs' and 'Ironside' Producer, Dies at 91|website=yahoo.com|access-date=April 23, 2021}}
In 1998, Chermak was a screenwriter for the television film Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Families. He wrote the script with his wife, Francine Carroll, for which they were nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC&pg=PA342|title=Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors|date=5 June 2009 |page=342|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810863781 }}
In 2016, Chermak wrote the book The Show Runner: An Insider's Guide to Successful Television Production.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BHVjtAEACAAJ|title=The Show Runner: An Insider's Guide to Successful Television Production at Google Books|date=2017|publisher=Jacobs Brown Press|isbn=978-0998866314}}
Death
Chermak died on January 29, 2021, at the age of 91, at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii, of natural causes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/2021/tv/news/cy-chermak-dead-chips-producer-1234897633/amp/|title=Cy Chermal, 'CHiPs' and 'Ironside' Producer, Dies at 91|website=variety.com|access-date=April 23, 2021}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0155871}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chermak, Cy}}
Category:American television writers