Sherwood Schwartz dies at 94

VETERAN TV producer Sherwood Schwartz, who created The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island, died in his sleep yesterday in Los Angeles at age 94.

Surrounded by his family, he passed away at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

"He didn't really die. He just ran out of time to do things," his son, Lloyd J. Schwartz, told The Wrap.

The New Jersey native got his start in showbiz as a writer for the radio versions of The Bob Hope Show and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet before he moved into television.

In the sixties, he created, wrote and produced his first major hit, Gilligan's Island, about a crew of shipwrecked passengers forced together on a deserted island. The comedy - starring Bob Denver in the role of Gilligan and actress Tina Louise, who played the sexy movie star Ginger Grant - ran for three seasons.

Schwartz's next major success came in 1969 with the family comedy The Brady Bunch, starring Florence Henderson and Robert Reed as the mother and father to their blended breed of six. It ran for five seasons.

He also penned the theme songs for the shows.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Henderson said Schwartz changed her life by choosing her to play Carol Brady.

She said Schwartz was "a wonderful writer and producer, but more importantly, he was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend."

The Emmy Award-winning screenwriter is survived by his wife of 69 years, Mildred, one daughter and three sons.

Before Schwartz's death, he and his producer son, Lloyd, had been working together to adaptGilligan's Island for the silver screen.

Though the Warner Bros. project is still in development, Schwartz had said in 2009 he would be thrilled to have Juno actor Michael Cera star as Gilligan and pop diva Beyonce Knowles play the irresistible Ginger.