---
name: "Susan Harris"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/susan-harris"
roles: ["Creator","Writer"]
born: "28 October 1940"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 85
updated: "2026-09-16T20:01:36.279585+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Susan Harris

Creator and writer. Born 28 October 1940 in Mount Vernon, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Creator, Writer
- **Born:** 28 October 1940, Mount Vernon, New York, USA
- **Active:** 1971–1985
- **Works often with:** Paul Bogart

## Fi1m on Susan Harris

> Susan Harris lets women be vain, impatient and funny without asking us to dislike them. We recommend *The Golden Girls* for that freedom and the writing it encourages, with reservations when the conversation turns into a lesson.

In *The Golden Girls* (1985), a joke can carry on through the woman listening after the woman speaking has finished. Harris gives each of the four leads something to defend, even if it is only the right to finish a story. We laughed at the reactions as much as the lines, because the writing gives the listener a stake in what is being said. This is comedy built for actors who pay attention to one another.

Harris’s early credits include *All in the Family* (1971), a programme we recommend chiefly for Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton. Her work on *Maude* (1972) preceded the creation of *Soap* (1977), on which she wrote or co-wrote nearly every episode. That was a substantial change from contributing scripts to somebody else’s programme. With *The Golden Girls*, she put women over 50 at the centre and gave them lives that did not depend on a man entering the scene. Their vanity and impatience were useful sources of comedy.

Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan are among the other writers on *The Golden Girls*, and it would be wrong to assign every successful exchange to its creator. What we value in Harris’s premise is the freedom it gives those writers: none of the women has to remain agreeable for the comedy to work. Each can pursue her own advantage, and the others get a reply. The four leads’ timing makes those exchanges worth watching even when the subject is familiar.

The reservation is that *The Golden Girls* sometimes turns a conversation into a lesson. That frustrates us because the women already have enough at stake to make the subject worth our attention; they do not need to explain why it matters as well. Harris is more persuasive when she trusts their selfishness and affection to come through in what they say to one another. Start here for the jokes, and allow for the occasional lecture.

## Biography

Susan Harris is an American television writer and producer. Born Susan Spivak on 28 October 1940 in Mount Vernon, New York, she began her career selling a script to the series *Then Came Bronson* in 1969. She went on to write episodes for *Love, American Style*, *All in the Family* (three episodes, 1971–1973), *The Partridge Family* and *Maude*.

Harris created the sitcoms *Soap* (1977–1981), for which she wrote most episodes, and *The Golden Girls* (1985–1992). She also created or co-created *Benson*, *Empty Nest*, *Nurses* and several other series. Her work often addressed social issues. She formed the production company Witt/Thomas/Harris with Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas.

Harris received an Emmy Award for *The Golden Girls* and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2011. She was awarded the Writers Guild of America's Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television in 2005.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, televisionacademy.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Golden Girls* (1985), Fi1m 88, Creator, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-golden-girls.md)
- *All in the Family* (1971), Fi1m 82, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/all-in-the-family.md)

## Also known for

- *Happy Days* (1974), Writer
- *Muppet Babies* (1984), Director
- *Soap* (1977), Writer, Director
- *Benson* (1979), Writer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/susan-harris