Emmy-winning screenwriter Rich Eustis died October 30 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. at age 86, his family said. No cause was given.
Eustis was half of the writing team Eustis and Elias, who together created the hit show Head of the Class, which premiered in 1986 and ran for five seasons on ABC.
Born in Vancouver, BC, Eustis was a football star and journalist before moving to Los Angeles. He started his TV career on variety shows, writing for Dean Martin and John Denver before pairing up with his writing partner of two decades, Michael Elias.
He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for An Evening with John Denver in 1975.
Eustis is survived by his wife, Tiana; sons John and Ronald; daughter Madeleine; son-in-law Marcel Samek; grandson Julian Eustis Samek; and granddaughters Colette Eustis Samek and Linh Eustis. His daughter-in-law, Oanh Ly, is also a TV writer.
He was preceded in death by his eldest daughter Sandy Eustis, who was a script supervisor.