Winifred Celeste Hervey (born May 14, 1955 ) having previously penned an episode of Laverne & Shirley for Garry Marshall served as a writer for Mork and Mindy in Season 4, including what served as the Series Finale The Mork Report.
Notable Episodes[]
While working for the Garry Marshall company Winifred Hervey came on board the Mork & Mindy writing team, in Season 4 under Brian Levant. Her first ever script hitting the screen (of any show she'd ever done) being Present Tense. This episode focused on the (all too realistic) issues couples, in this case Mork & MIndy, who become parents early in their marriage sometimes have in finding their way back to being just a couple. Present Tense was notable for being the closest the show ever came to a complete 2-Hander episode for the 2 Main Characters/Principal Actors, with almost all the dialogue (bar a 3 minute interaction with the foreman at the spot they first met) between Robin Williams & Pam Dawber alone.
She also provided the screenplay for Cheerleaders in Chains off of Cindy Begel & Lisa Kite's story.
Due to the cancellation of the show, and the re-ordering of episodes to avoid a cliffhanger, by default she also ended up writing the Series Finale. The anthology episode The Mork Report with 4 separate vignette storylines, focused on aspects of the relationship of Mork & Mindy that made up Morks attempt to 'gain his stripes' and get promotion from Orson. An episode that also proved to be Robin Williams only directing credit.
On Mork & Mindy[]
Winifred Hervey on "Mork & Mindy" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG
Winifred Hervey talking about her first script for Mork & Mindy, Present Tense (also her first script ever put on screen), as well as watching her ideas come to life on The Mork Report. And the differences between working with Robin Williams & Jonathan Winters.
Career[]
A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Winifred Hervey began her career in the 1970s as a writer for The Garry Marshall Company where she wrote for the sitcoms Mork & Mindy and The New Odd Couple. During the 1980s, she wrote episodes of Benson and The Cosby Show. She also penned episodes of The Golden Girls, where she also served as co-producer. In 1987, she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series while working on the series.
In the 1990s, she executive produced and wrote for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and In the House.[1] In 1996, she created, executive produced and served as head writer for The Steve Harvey Show. The series won three NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2001, 2002, and 2003.[2] In 2002, she produced and wrote six episodes of the UPN series Half & Half for which she was nominated for a BET Comedy Award. In 2004, she was the first black recipient of the Beverly Hills Older American of the Year award.[3]
Awards & Nominations[]
| 1987 | Emmy Awards | Won | Outstanding Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Shared with [Fanaro|Barry Fanaro], Terry Grossman, [Harris|Susan Harris], Mort Nathan, Kathy Speer, [Thomas (producer)|Tony Thomas], Marsha Posner Williams, and [Junger Witt|Paul Junger Witt] |
| 1988 | Nominated | Outstanding Comedy Series | The Golden Girls | Shared with Jeffrey Ferro, Barry Fanaro, Terry Grossman, Susan Harris, Mort Nathan, Kathy Speer, Tony Thomas, Marsha Posner Williams, Fredric Weiss, and Paul Junger Witt | |
| 2005 | BET Comedy Awards | Nominated | Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Half & Half | Shared with [Lee Bowser|Yvette Lee Bowser], Michaela Feeley, Bill Fuller, Heather MacGillvray, Linda Mathious, David M. Matthews, David L. Moses, Temple Northup, Jim Pond, Beth Seriff, Geoff Tarson, Carla Banks-Waddles, Chauncey B. Raglin-Washington, and Jamie Wooten |
References[]
- "Producer Bios: Winifred Hervey - Executive Producer".
- 2001 Outstanding Alumni Awards - AACC
- ^ "First Black honoree". Jet: 13. August 2, 2004 – via Biography Resources Center.