Sherry Coben
{{Short description|American screenwriter (1953–2024)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sherry Coben
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = September 1953
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and given age|2024|10|16|71}}
| death_place = New Milford, New Jersey, U.S.
| other_names =
| occupation = Writer
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works = Kate & Allie
}}
Sherry Coben (September 1953 – October 16, 2024) was an American writer who created the 1980s situation comedy Kate & AllieO'Connor, John J. [https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/19/arts/kate-allie-about-2-divorced-women-on-cbs.html "'Kate & Allie,' About 2 Divorced Women, On CBS"], The New York Times, March 19, 1984. Accessed December 1, 2007. "Created by Sherry Coben, the series has been fortunate enough to attract some first-rate talent, in front of and behind the cameras." and the webseries Little Women, Big Cars.{{Cite web|url=http://corp.aol.com/2012/04/24/little-women-big-cars-aol-and-vuguru-s-highly-anticipated-orig/|title = Verizon Media}}
Early life
Coben was born in September 1953.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/courier-post-kate-allie-carries-cher/142465073/|newspaper=Courier-Post|title=Kate & Allie' carries Cherry Hill writer into TV's hallowed land|date=May 24, 1985|first=Christina|last=Wiser}} She grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and attended Cherry Hill High School West,Bianculli, David. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB2977FAC455BCD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Kate/Allie Is Renewed, Creator Told"], The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 28, 1984. Accessed October 19, 2024. graduating in 1971. She attended both Swarthmore College and Cornell University.
Career
Coben started her media career in the art department at KYW-TV. Her first TV writing work was on the 1979-1980 children's show Hot Hero Sandwich, for which she received an Emmy Award. She then wrote for Ryan's Hope before selling her first pilot script, which became the series Kate & Allie.
Personal life and death
Coben married film editor Pat McMahon. Their long-distance relationship inspired Coben's second pilot, Love Long Distance, about a couple divided between Philadelphia and New York City;{{cite news|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-a-2d-series-fr/142466354/|title=A 2d series from 'Kate & Allie' creator|date=March 14, 1985|first=Gail|last=Shister}} the pilot was shot but not picked up for a series.
Coben died from cancer at her home in New Milford, New Jersey, on October 16, 2024, at the age of 71.{{cite news |last1=Rice |first1=Lynette |title=Sherry Coben Dies: Creator Of 'Kate & Allie' Was 71 |url=https://deadline.com/2024/10/sherry-coben-dies-creator-of-kate-and-allie-age-71-1236119663/ |access-date=18 October 2024 |publisher=Deadline |date=17 October 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0167872}}
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Category:American women television producers
Category:American soap opera writers
Category:Writers from Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Category:People from New Milford, New Jersey
Category:American women soap opera writers
Category:Screenwriters from New Jersey
Category:Cherry Hill High School West alumni
Category:Television producers from New Jersey
Category:21st-century American women
Category:Deaths from cancer in New Jersey
Category:Writers from Bergen County, New Jersey
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