Mike Milligan, an American TV writer and producer whose credits include “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” has died. He was 77.
Milligan died of acute respiratory failure in his home in West Hills, Calif. on Dec. 20, according to a PR representative.
Milligan was a celebrated member of the Writers Guild of America for more than 50 years. With his writing partner Jay Moriarty, Milligan wrote and produced hit TV shows such as “Good Times,” “What’s Happening Now,” “Maude,” “Dear John,” “Here and Now” and “Melba.”
Both Milligan and Moriarty received an NAACP Image Award for their writing and producing work on the Emmy-winning sitcom “The Jeffersons.” The show was among the first American sitcoms to tackle topics such as suicide, transgender identity and white supremacy.
In 1992, the pair served as co-writers and executive producers on NBC’s “Here and Now” starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Charles Brown, Daryl Mitchell and Rachael Crawford. In 2019, an “All in the Family” episode titled “The Draft Dodger,” originally written and premiered as a holiday episode in 1976, was rehashed word for word in the ABC television special “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” with Norman Lear and Jimmy Kimmel. The telecast, which featured Woody Harrelson as Archie Bunker and Morisa Tomei as Edith, received an Emmy for outstanding variety special.
Milligan was born in Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 1947. A graduate of LA’s Loyola Marymount University, he joined the Air Force as a typist to stay ahead of the draft during the Vietnam War.
Milligan is survived by his wife Jill, his son John, his sister Jeri and his five granddaughters.