robert garland

Born May 1, 1937, in Brooklyn, Robert Garland began his television career as talent coordinator for “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1969, when the show was filming in New York. Before long he became a writer for the show, helping to set up Carson’s late-night monologues. In the early ’70s he went on to write the scripts for the  That Girl series; The Bill Cosby Hour ; Love, American style; The Bob Newhart Show and Sanford and Son .

In 1979 he made his big screen debut with The Electric Horseman , directed by Sydney Pollack , with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda . She went on to help finish the scripts for Tootsie , Edge of Reality, and The Deal of the Century , although she does not appear in the credits for any of the three.

His film No Exit , a fresh thriller starring Kevin Costner , where he is also credited as a producer, achieved enormous success at the box office. He concluded his career with The Big Blue , by the French Luc Besson .

After retirement, Robert Garland lived in places like Paris and the Liguria region of Italy. He is survived by his son, Michael, a Washington DC attorney, and his grandsons Jonah and Felix.