Jenna McMahon | |
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 Publicity Photo of Jenna McMahon | |
| Born | Mary Virginia Skinner (1925-05-24)May 24, 1925 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | (aged 89) Monterey, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1959–1993 |
| Spouse | James Holden (1 child) (divorced) |
| Awards | Emmy Award for Best Writing in Variety or Music forThe Carol Burnett Show (1974, 1975, 1978) |
Mary Virginia Skinner (May 24, 1925 – March 2, 2015), known professionally asJenna McMahon, was an American writer, producer, actress and comedian. She was best known for herEmmy Award-winning work as a writer on the variety/sketch comedy programThe Carol Burnett Show and for co-creating the television sitcomsIt's a Living,The Facts of Life, andMama's Family along with her writing partnerDick Clair.[1]
McMahon was born inKansas City, Missouri. She later moved toNew York City where she studied acting underStella Adler. As an actress, she appeared on such television shows asDennis the Menace,The Twilight Zone,Love, American Style,The Bob Newhart Show, andWelcome Back, Kotter.[1]
Relocating to West Hollywood, McMahon opened a playhouse and was teaching acting when she met Dick Clair in 1961. Using the name McMahon (her mother's maiden name), she and Clair formed a comedy act similar to that ofNichols and May, playing nightclubs and eventually appearing onThe Ed Sullivan Show,The Merv Griffin Show and other television programs.[1]
The duo moved into television writing in the early 1970s, working on episodes of sitcoms such asThe Bob Newhart Show andThe Mary Tyler Moore Show before joining the writing staff ofThe Carol Burnett Show in 1973. They remained with the show for six seasons, winning three Emmy Awards and receiving an additional six Emmy nominations in the process. The duo then moved on to write forSoap, for which they earned another Emmy nomination in 1981.[1]
McMahon and Clair contributed the story for the final first-season episode of theNBC sitcomDiff'rent Strokes, which served as the springboard for their seriesThe Facts of Life.[2] The latter series ran for nine seasons on NBC, making it one of the longest-running sitcoms of the 1980s. McMahon and Clair then co-createdIt's a Living withStu Silver; this series aired on ABC for two seasons and in first-run syndication for another four. In 1983, McMahon and Clair createdMama's Family, based on a recurring series of comedy sketches they wrote forThe Carol Burnett Show called "The Family." McMahon and Clair also wrote for, and were producers on, the 1987 ABC comedy specialCarol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin, for whichRobin Williams won the first of his two Emmy Awards.[2]
McMahon was married to actor James Holden, which ended in divorce. They have a daughter, Kerry Holden-Dixon.[3]
Following Clair's death in 1988, McMahon produced the short-lived sitcomJulie, starringJulie Andrews, before retiring from television. She died of heart failure inMonterey, California, on March 2, 2015, at age 89.[4][5]
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