Eric Gilliland, a television producer and writer known for his work on the hit sitcom “Roseanne,” died Sunday of colon cancer, his sister Lisa confirmed to diversityHe was 62.
Gilliland was a producer and writer for the ABC series “Roseanne” from 1992 to 1996. He was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for the 1992 episode “The Dark Ages.”
In 2019, Gilliland served as a consulting producer on two episodes of the “Roseanne” spin-off series “The Conners.”
After his time on “Roseanne,” Gilliland worked as a consulting producer on “That ’70s Show” from 1998 to 1999 and also wrote the third episode of the first season, titled “Streaking.” In the episode, Eric (Topher Grace), Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), Hyde (Danny Masterson) and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) plan to walk naked in front of President Gerald R. Ford during his visit to Point Place, Wisconsin.
Gilliland also worked as a producer for television shows such as Nurses, That’s Life, Welcome to New York, Mr. Sunshine, and My Boys. He wrote episodes for many of these series, including four episodes of the TBS sitcom My Boys and two episodes of the short-lived ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine, which starred and co-wrote Matthew Perry.
Gilliland’s other writing credits include Women in Prison, Live-In, Who’s the Boss?, Living Dolls, Married People, Doogie Howser, M.D. and The Wonder Years. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2019 for his work on Netflix’s historical sketch comedy series The Who Was? Show.
Many in the industry paid tribute to Gilliland on social media following the news of his death.
“I know it’s weird, but I was thinking this morning that Eric Gilliland would have taken perverse pleasure in knowing that Dick Van Dyke, of all people, outlived him,” wrote “Modern Family” co-creator Steve Levitan in a Facebook post on Monday. “This is one of the ways Eric and I bonded in 8th grade, over our shared love of ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show.’ And Monty Python, Jack Benny, ‘The Carol Burnett Show,’ ‘SNL’ and bad puns. (Yes, folks, we started a pun club.)”
Actress Martha Plimpton wrote on Instagram: “I can’t find the old pictures right now. I don’t really know what to do with myself. Today is harder. The world is a less happy and laughter-filled place without my friend Eric Gilliland.”
Actor Dan Bucatinsky called Gilliland “brilliant, sweet, kind, funny, generous” in his tribute on Instagram.
He continued: “His legacy is the wave of love he inspired among so many friends.”
