David Shaw, father of Blue Mesa restaurateur Liz Baron, dies in Beverly Hills

by PegNews wire

David Shaw, a film, broadcast, and stage writer for five decades who was part of a group in the 1950s credited with creating television’s "Golden Age," died in his sleep Friday in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 90.

Shaw, who was the father of Liz Baron of Dallas, owner of the Blue Mesa Grill restaurant chain, began writing for television in the early 1950s, starting with ensemble shows of the day, including Philco Television Playhouse, Playhouse 90, and Producers Showcase (including a musical adaptation of Our Town with Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, and Joanne Woodward, for which he was nominated for an Emmy in 1956 for best adaptation).

He was story editor and writer for series such as Mr. Peepers and The Defenders. He wrote for stage as well, creating the book for the Broadway musical Redhead starring Gwen Verdon and Richard Kiley, for which he won a Tony Award. In 1969, he wrote the screenplay for the feature film, If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award (and which featured Liz Baron as an extra). In 1990, he was given the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement for his scripts across four decades. He taught screenplay writing at the American Film Institute for several years.

In 2003, Shaw was one of the subjects of a short documentary called Funny Old Guys, about an informal lunch group of writers from film and television who met weekly to exchange jokes and reminisce about their lives and careers.

He was married in 1941 to the former Vivian Rosenthal; she died in 1969. In 1973, he married the actress Maxine Stuart. He is survived by Ms. Stuart; two daughters, Liz Baron and Ellen Agress of New York City, deputy general counsel of News Corporation, and stepdaughter, Chris Ann Maxwell, vice president of Fox Searchlight Pictures; and four grandchildren.

Memorial arrangements are pending.

Posted by T.G.