Biography
Gary Dontzig (18 March 1946 – 23 February 2026) was an American television writer, producer and former actor. Born in New York City, he began his career with guest roles on series including The Waltons, Laverne & Shirley and One Day at a Time, and appeared on stage in a touring production of Mame.
With writing partner Steven Peterman he joined the original writing staff of the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown (1988), co-writing 25 episodes and serving as producer on 150 episodes across the first six seasons. The pair shared three Primetime Emmy Awards for the series (two for Outstanding Comedy Series and one for writing) and later developed and executive-produced the first three seasons of Suddenly Susan (1996). Dontzig and Peterman also worked on State of Grace, the final season of Becker (1998), and contributed to Hannah Montana (2006). Dontzig taught at American University and wrote plays.
