Roger Beatty, the five-time Emmy-winning writer of “The Carol Burnett Show,” died April 6 in his Palm Desert, California, home after losing his battle with prostate cancer. He was 87.
The Southern California native and former Coast Guard began his television career at CBS in 1956 on “The Bing Crosby Show,” which led to work on the network’s other variety shows, including “The Red Skelton Show” and “The Danny Kaye Show,” and eventually landing as an associate producer on “The Carol Burnett Show” in 1968.
There he wrote comedy sketches for Burnett and her team which included Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, through the show’s last season in 1978. During his stay, he won five Emmy Awards for his comedic writing.
When “The Carol Burnett Show” ended, Burnett’s costars brought Beatty along with them to their next projects, as he directed several episodes of “Mama’s Family” with Lawrence and Conway’s “Dorf” videos, and also several TV specials.
He also co-wrote the movie “The Billion Dollar Hobo” with Conway in 1977, and the last project he worked on was directing Conway and Korman in “Together Again,” a live performance of over 500 shows across the United States. In 1976, Beatty was recognized by the Director’s Guild with an Achievement Award for his work on “Beverly Sills and Carol Burnett at the Met.”
Roger Beatty is survived by his older brother Darryl, soulmate Georgette, his three daughters, daughter-in-law, his granddaughter, grandson-in-law and two great-granddaughters.
Due to COVID-19 stay at home orders, a Celebration of Life for Roger will be held at a later time.