Sherry Coben, Creator of ‘Kate and Allie,’ Dies at 71
Sherry Coben, a writer-producer who created the Emmy-winning 1980s sitcom “Kate & Allie,” died Oct. 16 of cancer in New Milford, N.J. She was 71.
Coben started out in the art department at Philadelphia’s KYW-TV, working on graphics, sets, illustration and animation for local programming and “The Mike Douglas Show.” After moving to New York City, she worked freelance for TV shows and magazines, then broke in as a writer on the children’s program “Hot Hero Sandwich,” for which she won a Daytime Emmy.
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She went on to writer for the ABC soap opera “Ryan’s Hope” before creating the CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie.” Starring Jane Curtin and Susan St. James as divorced mothers who raise their children together, the show won several Emmys and ran for six seasons. St. James is the more spirited of the pair, while Curtin, who won two consecutive Emmys for her role, is the more conservative mom.
Coben talked about the show’s success in 2017, telling the Hollywood Reporter, “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.”
Coben also served as writer-producer on CBS series “Bailey Kipper’s P.O.V.” and created and wrote the web series “Little Women, Big Cars.” She also wrote the screenplay for the 1985 TV movie “Love, Long Distance,” about a couple enduring a commuter marriage.
She was proud of mentoring the next generation of writers, performer and artists.
Coben is survived by her husband, film editor Patrick McMahon, and her daughters, Kaley McMahon and Jama McMahon.
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