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Howard Leeds, a seasoned sitcom creator, developed The Facts of Life and contributed as producer and writer to The Brady Bunch, Diff'rent Strokes, and Silver Spoons.
In the late 1970s, while producing the popular Diff'rent Strokes starring Conrad Bain and Gary Coleman, Leeds was approached by NBC executive Fred Silverman and producer Norman Lear to create a spin-off.
The Facts of Life premiered in August 1979 and aired over nine seasons, totaling more than 200 episodes from 1979 to 1988. The series, a comedy that addressed serious topics, centered on a group of teenage girls at a private boarding school in New York, guided by their pragmatic and caring housemother Edna Garrett (played by Charlotte Rae, who had previously portrayed a witty maid on Diff'rent Strokes).
Leeds also created two other notable 1980s sitcoms featuring young actors: Silver Spoons, starring Ricky Schroder as the focal point of a wealthy family, and Small Wonder, which followed a family with a charming robot daughter (played by Tiffany Brissette).
Earlier in his career, Leeds produced 92 episodes of The Brady Bunch from 1970 to 1974 and worked on shows such as My Living Doll, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, and Hello, Larry.
Born on June 27, 1919, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Leeds moved to Los Angeles with his family and graduated from Fairfax High School in 1937.
After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he returned to Los Angeles and began working at MGM. His first writing credit was in 1952 for CBS's Meet Millie, a radio program adapted for television starring Elena Verdugo.
Beginning in 1953, Leeds wrote for The Red Skelton Hour and received an Emmy nomination in 1956 for best comedy writing for The George Gobel Show, which was also written by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin.
He went on to write for The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, Bachelor Father, The Bob Cummings Show, Make Room for Daddy, My Three Sons, Bewitched, Barney Miller, and variety specials featuring stars such as Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Benny Hill.
From 1976 to 1978, Leeds served as executive producer of television drama and comedy, as well as motion pictures, for Australia's Reg Grundy Productions.
