Ronald I. Friedman, the writer who helped bring The Transformers: The Movie and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero to life, has passed away at the age of 93.
He died on September 15 from cardiopulmonary arrest at the Motion Picture and Television Fund in Woodland Hills.
This one hits hard. These are the shows and movies I grew up with. Transformers and G.I. Joe were my entertiament, and they were an entire world of imagination.
Friedman’s writing gave us characters, battles, and stories that became a huge part of our childhoods. It feels right to take a moment to honor him, because his work shaped the way so many of us experienced storytelling at such a young age.
Born in West Virginia in 1932 and raised in Pittsburgh, Friedman originally studied architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. But instead of designing buildings, he built stories. And what a career it turned out to be.
He wrote more than 700 hours of primetime television, putting his stamp on shows like The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, Gilligan’s Island, The Odd Couple, and Happy Days.
He also contributed to My Favorite Martian, Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Partridge Family, and That’s My Mama. In 1966, he earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for his work on The Danny Kaye Show.
By the 70s and 80s, Friedman was writing for Chico and the Man, Starsky and Hutch, The Fall Guy, and Fantasy Island. Then he shifted into animation, and that’s where he changed everything for me and millions of other kids. G.I. Joe, Marvel’s Fantastic Four and Iron Man animated series in 1994, and Warner Bros. Taz-Mania all came from his pen. And of course, he gave us the script for The Transformers: The Movie in 1986, which remains one of the most legendary animated films ever made.
What makes his legacy so special is that his stories became part of who we are. I’ll never forget watching Optimus Prime make his last stand, or the Joes facing off against Cobra. So many awesome moments stuck with me, and they still do. That’s the power of what Ron Friedman created.
Friedman is survived by his wife, Val. Rest in peace, Mr. Friedman. Thank you for the worlds you gave us.
