Bill Persky | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1931-09-09)September 9, 1931 (age 94) |
| Occupation(s) | Television director Screenwriter Television producer Actor |
| Spouse | Joanna Patton (3rd wife) |
| Children | Dana Persky Jamie Persky Liza Persky Alexandra Feldon |
Bill Persky (born September 9, 1931) is an American televisiondirector,screenwriter, andproducer.
Persky was born to aJewish family, the son of an estate auctioneer.[1] His father would travel between various resort towns where the wealthy lived to conduct estate auctions.[1] He has one older sister, Bunny Persky Grossinger, and attended Ramble Elementary School inHot Springs, Arkansas.[1] During the summers, he worked as a lifeguard in theBorscht Belt in theCatskill Mountains.[1] He attendedSyracuse University, where he studied advertising, and after school went to work for an advertising agency in New York City.[1] He then took a job atWNEW where he metSam Denoff where they wrote jokes for the DJs out of fun which soon morphed into part of their job tasks.[1] The writing team moved toLos Angeles in the 1960s, taking a job to write forThe Steve Allen Show.[1]
Persky and Denoff wrote some of the most popular episodes ofThe Dick Van Dyke Show. They later wrote and created the television showThat Girl starringMarlo Thomas as well asGood Morning World starringJoby Baker andRonnie Schell. Persky directed 100 episodes of thesituation comedyKate and Allie.[2] He also directed the situation comediesThe Practice (1976) andBusting Loose (1977), and the movieSerial (1980).
In 2015, Persky appeared on the reality TV showNY:ER (season 2, episode 13) as himself after suffering a collapsed lung. In the appearance, Persky had his wife bring a copy of his bookMy Life as a Situation Comedy to the ER so he could sign a copy for his nurse. His wife also claimed to have brought him a bottle of bourbon, which was not shown.[citation needed]
Persky has been married three times. He has three daughters with his first wife: neuropsychologist Dana Persky, restaurateur Jamie Persky, and television producer Liza Persky. He had fourth daughter, Alexandra Feldon, with his second wife Marsha Pinkstaff. His third wife is New York advertising executive Joanna Patton.[1]
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