Cy Chermak

Seymour "Cy" Chermak (September 20, 1929 – January 29, 2021) was an American producer and screenwriter. He is best known for producing CHiPs, Ironside, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Chermak started his career at the age of 17.^[1]

From 1950 - 1954, Chermak was head writer for the new DuMont Television Network crime drama television series Rocky King Detective.^[2] He wrote the screenplay for the 1959 film 4D Man with Theodore Simonson.^[3]

In 1967, he became an executive producer for the new NBC crime drama television series Ironside.^[4][5]

In 1971, Chermak was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his work on Ironside.^[6] He would go on to write and produce several television programs, including Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Barbary Court, Murder at the World Series, ^[7] and spinoff television series Amy Prentiss.^[8] In 1978, he became a producer for the new NBC series CHiPs. He would go on to produce 125 episodes of the show.^[9]

In 1998, Chermak was a screenwriter for the television film Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Families. He wrote the script with his wife, Francine Carroll, for which they were nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award.^[10]

In 2016, Chermak wrote the book The Show Runner: An Insider's Guide to Successful Television Production.^[11]

Chermak died on January 29, 2021, at the age of 91, at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii, of natural causes.^[12]

• Cy Chermak at IMDb