Questions with Answers from Karyl Geld-Miller
The following questions were posed by email by Andrew Szym to Karyl Geld-Miller in September, 2002. Here are the questions and her responses. MTMShow.com graciously extends thanks to Karyl, who wrote the episodes "Rhoda's Sister Gets Married" and "WJM Tries Harder".
ACS: When did you start writing? Was there something in your life that 'made' you start writing?
KGM: I was always funny, but I was always an artist with a passion for fashion. I lived in New York and was working as a dress designer when my then-husband and I moved to Los Angeles with our baby. The garment center in L.A. is lame compared to New York, so I decided to switch careers and try writing sitcoms, because – like I said - I was always funny.
I had no training in writing, but I hadn't had that much training in dress designing either – so I thought I could figure it out. Also, there was no sitcom writing training at that time – no college courses, no scripts you could buy, no Internet resources listing all the storylines from a particular show like there are now, and no videos! Collecting old TV Guides was the only way a writer could find out what stories a show had done. Eventually my TV Guide stack was almost as tall as me (5 feet).
ACS: What was the first sitcom you wrote episodes for?
KGM: The very first sitcom I tried writing for was "Barefoot In The Park," because my car mechanic was also the mechanic for the producer of that show. I was able to get copies of their shooting scripts through him – although they were often covered with grease. I thought my script was great, mainly because I had filled up the right amount of pages and because it looked like a script should look. But the Barefoot producer wasn't that impressed. This didn't deter me, however. I just keep writing spec script after spec script for other shows. Eventually, my writing improved.
ACS: What was your first professional writing job?
KGM: My very first actual (though non-credited) writing job was writing 15 and 30 second silent comedy bumpers on "Love American Style". I was one of a few neophyte writers were mentored by Garry Marshall. Garry was executive producing almost all the Paramount TV comedies at that time including "The Odd Couple," "Laverne and Shirley," and "Love American Style." Garry would pay beginning writers maybe $50 for each silent script that he accepted. I used to submit thirty or forty to Garry at a time. I sold lots of them.
The first sitcom I sold was to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". It's easier to write for a good show than a bad show because the characters are well defined. MTM didn't buy my MTM spec script because they thought the story was sort of predictable, but they hired me to write for them nevertheless.
That same spec "Mary Tyler Moore Show" script that I wrote also got me hired to write on Lily Tomlin's first and second TV specials. The first Lily special was nominated for an Emmy and I won an Emmy for Best Writing on Lily's second special.
ACS: Did you visit the MTMS set or consult with the directors/ story editors during the production of your two MTMS episodes?
KGM: My initial First Draft story meetings were with Exec Producers Jim Brooks and Allan Burns. My Second Draft meetings also included Producer Ed. Weinberger. During the week of production of my first episode I got special permission to sit in on the actors' run-throughs and to participate in the nightly re-writes. By the time my second MTM episode was produced I had won my Emmy; I had a top agent at the top agency (ICM), and was writing freelance episodes for every sitcom in town. In fact, one night I had three sitcoms on TV – all on different channels. I didn't have time to hang around MTM for a week.
ACS: Were you supporting a family with your writing jobs?
KGM: I got divorced right after my first MTM episode. Gloria Steinem said a women needed a husband like a fish needed a bicycle and I believed her. I bought a house, supported my son and myself, took carpentry at night school and basically became the husband I had always dreamed of marrying.
ACS: Do you write now for a living, or for the sheer enjoyment? of working with gifted folks like Costner?
KGM: Writing is both fun and hard work. It's certainly a privilege to spin tales in your head - in your pajamas if you want - and then sell them! It's a delight to work with the gifted folks I've worked with like Costner – he's funny too! I've often said if writing weren't my job it would be my hobby. Luckily, it's turned out to be a really lucrative hobby!
ACS: How did you get your ideas for your two MTM stories?
KGM: Jim and Alan always had a list of one-sentence story ideas they wanted to do and they would just read the list off and you would see if you sparked to any of the ideas.
For my first MTM script "Rhoda's Sister Gets Married," the guys had this idea that Rhoda's beautiful younger sister (NOT Julie Kavner- she was invented much later) would get married and that this would make Rhoda's Jewish mother Nancy Walker miserable because Rhoda - being older - should get married first. I loved this idea because it was so Jewish and involved a Jewish mother (which I had and I am).
Anyway, it took three days for the four of us to figure out all the scenes. In the end, Rhoda's mother had to twist the guilt knife into Rhoda. I had the perfect idea and it was lying in my hope chest at home. My mother had written me this long mushy letter the morning I was born. It was supposed to be given to me on my 21st birthday, but when I was a teenager, every time my mom and I had a big fight (which was often) she would whip out The Letter. Well, it was impossible to read the letter without getting all choked up since it was soaked with the sentiments and dreams a new mother has for her child. The next morning I brought the letter in. Jim and Alan told me to copy it exactly into the script. I did and it worked perfectly.
My second script "WJM Tries Harder," was my own story idea that I brought to the show about Mary getting humiliated because she's dating a reporter from a richer, fancier TV News station. But nothing was as much fun writing as that first story because nothing was as personal to me.
ACS: Did you work with Treva Silverman at MTM Enterprises?
KGM: Treva was Jim and Alan's secret writing weapon and I think they kept her locked in her office and chained to her desk. But later - through the Writer's Guild Women's Committee Treva and I met and we've been good friends for years.
ACS: You also wrote for the first Bob Newhart Show, Maude, Barney Miller, and Sanford & Son. Any anecdotes to share about writing for these other classic sitcoms?
KGM: I have every story meeting I've ever had on audiotape. I thought this was a better method than taking notes. Anyway, in case I ever decide to start a Museum of Storyline Pitches, I've got Exhibits A- Z. Every show has a story. I could write a book, really but I'm too busy writing other things. Here's the short version:
Newhart – The producers stuck me with the stupidest story I ever heard and then criticized me for writing it.
Maude – The producers gave me a 20-page transcription of a rambling pitch meeting that included Norman Lear, where Maude and Walter decide to get a divorce and told me to make it funny.
Barney Miller – For research, I got to ride along with the L.A.P.D. Rampart Division cops (recently scandalized for corruption). My episode was about Fish – played by Abe Vigoda.
Sanford and Son – Richard Pryor and I partnered writing this episode after we met writing for Lily Tomlin. Richard taught me a lot, we laughed constantly and we became friends. His daughter Rain and my son Adam played together while we wrote.
ACS: You wrote for "The Cosby Show". Tell us about that.
KGM: I was one of the four writers on the pilot and original 13 Cosby Shows. All of us writers were from L.A. and had to leave our families and children to do the show in New York. Everyone signed on to write the show on a temporary basis because it was a hardship to be away for so long. Even then, I had this really naive notion that I would fly home to L.A. on weekends, but we were literally working all day and all night and every weekend day and night. I was beyond exhausted, we all were. Everyone was sick constantly. I had no idea the show would be such a huge hit, but it didn't matter, I just wanted to have my life back. I wanted to be a mom again and sleep in my own bed and cook a home-cooked meal. Also I had commitments to write pilots in L.A. so I had a year's worth of writing assignments ahead of me.
ACS: Both you and your son are artists. What kind of art do you do? Do you do it professionally?
KGM: I do arts and crafts for fun. I'm a third generation potchkee-er, which means I paint, I sew, and I'm a card-carrying Glue Gun Gertie. You can see my stuff on my website MillerReport.com. My son does fabulous performance art all over the world – mostly for corporate parties and raves. You can actually see a video of him doing his art on the web at WorldsFastestPainter.com.
ACS: What did you think of the film "Flirting With Disaster"? which Mary and Lily both had parts in? That film was by far the funniest I'd ever seen.
KGM: I died laughing. They were both so hysterical!
ACS: What are your latest projects?
KGM: I recently I wrote and Executive Produced "Life Of Riley – A Country Music Sitcom," which stars country music greats Mel Tillis, Mickey Gilley, Irlene Mandrell (the youngest Mandrell sis), and hilarious newcomer Joey Riley. It's being sold into syndication, but if you just can't wait to see it – there's a link to a video clip on my website MillerReport.com, so please check it out.
I also have several new shows in development – one is an animated comedy action adventure show that will also be a computer game, and an action figure and who knows what else! What I can assure you is: I am one busy gal!
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