‘Golden Girls’ producer Paul Junger Witt dies at 77

Paul Junger Witt, producer of such TV comedies as “The Golden Girls,” “Benson,” “Soap” and a principal of the prosperous Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, died Friday in Los Angeles. He was 77.

Witt had faced a long battle with cancer, a family representative said.

With producing partner Tony Thomas, Witt in the 1970s and 80s ran Witt/Thomas Productions, which was also home to NBC’s “Empty Nest” and “Blossom” and the original “Beauty and the Beast” series. In 1983, Witt married writer-producer Susan Harris, creator of NBC’s “Golden Girls,” and the company expanded as Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions.

In addition to his TV work, Witt was a producer of such films as “Dead Poet’s Society” and “Three Kings.”

Survivors include Harris and five children.

More to come