Richard Eustis, Head of the Class Creator, Dies at 86

By Spencer Perry

Primetime Emmy-winning writer Richard Eustis, best known for co-creating the sitcom Head of the Class, has passed away. Variety reports that the scribe died last month on Sunday, October 30th in Thousand Oaks, California. In addition to co-creating the hit sitcom, Eustis worked as a writer on other notable TV shows including Scrubs, Eye to Eye, and The Dean Martin Show. He is survived by his wife, Tiana, sons John and Ronald, and daughter Madeleine. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this time.

Co-created by Eustis with his creative partner Michael Elias, Head of the Class ran from 1986 to 1991. In the series, high school teacher Charlie Moore, played by Howard Hesseman, and the group of Individualized Honors Program students that he worked with at Millard Fillmore High School. The show's cast also included William G. Schilling, Jeannetta Arnette, Leslie Bega, Dan Frischman, Robin Givens, Khrystyne Haje, Jory Husain, Tony O'Dell, Brian Robbins. The series was rebooted with a modern version of the premise back in 2021 on HBO Max but only ran for one season, though some of the cast members form the original series did appear to reprise their roles. 

Eustis work on television actually began decades prior to Head of the Class, working with Grammy-Award Winning and Songwriters Hall of Fame artist John Denver. He worked as a writer on An Evening with John Denver, John Denver – Thank God I'm a Country Boy, and John Denver in Australia.. 4, before HBO announced in December last year that it would not be moving forward with a second season. He won his Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for the 1975 An Evening with John Denver.

(Cover photo by Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Trending Now: