Ron Friedman passed away on September 15, 2025.  He was 93.

I was very fortunate to have had him as a guest on this podcast -- Ron wrote for damn near every show I watched growing up -- The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, All in the Family, The Partridge Family, Chico and the Man, Fantasy Island....  His output was enormous -- over 700 hours of television, in all genres, sitcoms, action dramas, variety -- and his influence on me and millions of other former television addicts is incalculable.

I was even luckier to have then known him, all too briefly, as a friend.  When he learned that I was in the hospital for a lengthy stay, he would call me out of the blue, just to check up on me.  He was 92 years at the time, not in the best of health himself, but his sincere concern for me meant everything.  

That he happened to have grown up in West Virginia, in the same northern Ohio Valley area where I would grown up some years later, further cemented our bond.

I knew something wasn't right with Ron not only when he stopped receiving my calls, but then stopped returning my texts.  I wish I'd have had one last chat with him.

This will have to do.  It's Ron telling at least a part of his own life story, and he was born a master story teller.

Rest in well-earned peace, my friend.

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