Gary David Goldberg

In his four-hour interview, Gary David Goldberg (1944-2013) reminisces about his early years, growing up in a close family in Brooklyn (which later was the basis for his Brooklyn Bridge series), and recalls his early adult years traveling the world. He recounts becoming interested in writing and taking a class where his professor, Nate Monaster, noticed his talent and pointed him toward television writing. He discusses his early writing assignments on The Bob Newhart Show and other MTM shows, including The Tony Randall Show and Lou Grant, where he worked as a producer. He describes the formation of his company Ubu Productions and details the process of creating Family Ties, including the casting of Michael J. Fox, the basis of the characters, and the topics covered in key episodes. Goldberg talks about his subsequent series, Brooklyn Bridge, a labor of love based on his early life. He then speaks about the other series for which he is well known, Spin City. He outlines how the idea for the show came about, discusses working with Michael J. Fox (who now was a co-executive producer), and shares how production dealt with Fox's battle with Parkinson's disease. Karen Herman conducted the interview on January 30, 2007 in Brentwood, CA.