Chris Bearde

Chris Bearde (born 18 June 1936) is a comedy writer, producer and director best known for his work as a writer on the 1960s zeitgeist hit Laugh In and for co-writing and producing TV specials for Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Sonny and Cher, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Andy Williams, The Jackson Five, The Osmonds, Dinah Shore, Diana Ross, and Lucille Ball. He also created the format for the original Gong Show and a number of network and pay-cable comedy series including That's My Mama and Sherman Oaks.

Bearde's career started in the 1950s in Sydney, Australia. After working in radio and serving two years in the Australian Army, at 23 he became host of the children's television series Smalltime. His appearances in this show and his writing for other Australian comedy shows was recognised by visiting Canadian and American producers, and Bearde was contracted by the Canadian commercial network CTV to write a comedy series in the early 1960s, entitled Network. He created two shows for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Front and Centre and Canada's first late night political satire show Nightcap.

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