Jay Moriarty, TV writer and producer

Joe Wessels | Loveland Local News

In From Cincinnati’s inaugural edition we welcome Jay Moriarty, television writer and producer – now author (see below) – and a guy who is definitely From Cincinnati.

As you’ll hear in the episode, Moriarty was a boy on a mission who turned into a man on a mission, when, in 1968, he took his new bride (after they married in Cincinnati) and headed west with one goal in mind: Get a job writing for television.

©2019 High Priority Partners LLC Joe Wessels (left) and Jay Moriarty in Los Angeles after recording the first installment of From Cincinnati

After some years learning the ropes – but not too many – he found a TV show and a man he would like to work for – none other than the legendary Norman Lear and his groundbreaking TV show “All in the Family.” That would later translate into working on other iconic shows like “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times” and “What’s Happening Now,” among many, many others.

Some luck – including a chance meeting with another guy from Ohio and finding a writing partner (and we hear why finding a writing partner is very, very important in Moriarty’s view), Mike Milligan (whose grew up in Los Angeles but his father grew up in… you guessed it, Cincinnati), and the path was set. Moriarty would go on to have one of the most illustrious TV writing and producing careers Hollywood has ever seen.

And he grew up in Golf Manor and Finneytown. Who knew?

Moriarty also discusses his time working with Bill Cosby on “The Cosby Show” and other very notable shows you will undoubtedly remember, plus his marriage to Nancy Allen, who you might remember as well.

Jay has written an account of his life that is a brisk read with some great tips for aspiring television scriptwriters – or people who just remember and loved the iconic TV shows he helped get on the air. Get a copy of “Honky in the House: Writing and Producing The Jeffersons” (affiliate link) on Amazon. It’s also available on Kindle.

Thank you for listening to From Cincinnati. Special thanks to Chris Collier, a Cincinnati musician, raw talent and a great person for allowing us to use her music in today’s episode. Thanks, Chris!

From Cincinnati
From Cincinnati
Jay Moriarty, TV writer and producer
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About Joe Wessels 77 Articles
Long-time and award-winning Cincinnati-area journalist, radio show host, podcast producer and photographer Joe Wessels is the founder and publisher (and kinda the do-everything guy) of Loveland Local News. Previously, Wessels was the Cincinnati City Hall and Hamilton County reporter for The Cincinnati Post and a weekly columnist for Cincinnati CityBeat where he regularly broke news. Wessels moved to Loveland in 2014 and quickly realized Loveland would be a great place to fulfill his dream of creating his own online news and information publication.

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