Departures of note

Tim O'Donnell was an American television writer, producer and director whose career spanned several decades of network sitcoms. He began as a writer on series including Gloria, Diff'rent Strokes, Growing Pains and Just the Ten of Us, establishing himself as a reliable comedy writer in the 1980s. He made his directorial debut with Home Free, the Matthew Perry sitcom he co-created with Richard Gurman, and went on to direct episodes of Dave's World, Clueless, The Amanda Show, Lizzie McGuire, Phil of the Future and Flight 29 Down. He also created the sitcom Uncle Buck and signed a development deal with Paramount Television in 1992. He died at 77.