Joyce Eliason

Joyce Eliason (May 14, 1934 – January 10, 2022) was an American television writer and producer. She was best known for writing TV miniseries including Titanic and The Last Don, and for the TV film The Jacksons: An American Dream. Eliason was one of the writers for the hit television series Love, American Style and wrote her first screenplay Tell Me a Riddle in 1980.

Eliason was born in Manti, Utah on May 14, 1934. She worked for TV Guide in Salt Lake City before moving to Hollywood at age 30 with aspirations of becoming an actress. Her career in acting was unsuccessful, but she was able to find work as a writer. Her first writing credit came in 1972 for the anthology comedy series Love, American Style. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Eliason wrote for and produced numerous films, television shows and miniseries.

Eliason wrote two books, Fresh Meat/Warm Weather in 1974 and Laid Out in 1976.

Eliason had two children, Polly and Jill Eliason. She died on January 10, 2022, at the age of 87, after a brief illness.

Eliason was principally a writer, but she also frequently served as a producer on films which she has written. A partial filmography is shown below.[10]