Bernard Slade

Bernard Slade (born May 2, 1939) is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Slade began his career as an actor with the Garden Center Theatre in Vineland, Ontario. In the mid-1960s, he relocated to Hollywood and began to work as a writer for television sitcoms, including Bewitched. When ABC gave him the opportunity to create a series, he devised Love on a Rooftop, similar in theme to Neil Simon's Barefoot in the P... more

Bernard Slade (born May 2, 1939) is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Slade began his career as an actor with the Garden Center Theatre in Vineland, Ontario. In the mid-1960s, he relocated to Hollywood and began to work as a writer for television sitcoms, including Bewitched. When ABC gave him the opportunity to create a series, he devised Love on a Rooftop, similar in theme to Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, about a young couple living in a windowless walk-up apartment with access to a rooftop with a view of San Francisco. The following year, Slade created The Flying Nun, with Sally Field as a young novice whose habit's headgear enabled her to fly. He also was responsible for The Partridge Family, based on the real-life Cowsills, and Bridget Loves Bernie, inspired by the play Abie's Irish Rose. Despite his success in TV, Slade returned to the theater in 1975 with his play Same Time, Next Year, about a couple who are married to others but meet... less