Producer Stephen C. Grossman, who worked in the entertainment industry for 35 years, including eight as the hit comedy’s coordinating producer Newhart, is dead. He died of complications from the coronavirus on Wednesday, his family confirmed. He was 76 years old.
Grossman’s 35 years in the entertainment industry began in the late 1960s, when acting aspirations brought him to New York from his home in Silver Spring, Maryland. He studied on Broadway, directed at the Circle in the Square Theater and worked for director Gil Cates.
A job offer brought Grossman, his wife, and newborn daughter to Hollywood in 1977. He worked at Mary Tyler Moore Enterprises when she was one of television’s busiest producers. In addition to Newhart, Grossman has worked in production and post-production on numerous pilots and series, including The Betty White Show, Mary, and Mary Tyler Moore’s Comedy Hour.
After leaving MTM in 1990, Grossman has been active with numerous production companies, including Warner Bros., Paramount TV, Disney; Turner TV, Spelling Prods., NBC Prods., Carsey Werner Co., Steven Bocho Prods., and CBS Prods.
At the beginning of the 21st Century, Grossman served as co-president of the American Association of Producers. He was instrumental in the merger of this group with the Producer’s Guild of America, which at the time doubled in size to around 1,000 members. “It came at a time of huge transition in content production and the use of technology,” Grossman recalled for a trade journal.
Grossman’s activity at the PGA included helping to launch the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Joan; his daughter, Jennifer; one son-in-law, Spencer Burke; and a grandson, Brenden, as well as two sisters and a brother.
Funeral services will be held at Groman Eden Mortuary in Mission Hills on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
