‘Roseanne’ comedy writer Eric Gilliland dies of cancer

Eric Gilliland, a comedy writer who rose to prominence for his work on Roseanne and My Boys, has passed away.

According to Deadline, the long-time comedy writer breathed his last on Sunday, September 1, following a battle with cancer.

His first significant writing gig on TV was on Who’s the Boss? After which he went on to pen Living Dolls, The Wonder Years, Boogie Howser, M.D., That ’70s Show and My Boys

In addition, Gilliland worked for the ABC comedy from 1992 to 1996 before consulting on The Conners in 2019.

His most recent project was the podcast The Cinnamon Bear: A Holiday Adventure.

As for the accolades, the much-acclaimed writer bagged a nomination for Roseanne in the WGA Award 1994. In 2019, Gilliland earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for his work on children’s show The Was Was? Show.

Shortly after his death was revealed to the public, several fellows and admirers penned their tributes.

"Weird, I know, but I found myself thinking this morning that Eric Gilliland would have taken some perverse pleasure in knowing that, of all people, he was outlived by Dick Van Dyke," Modern Family co-creator Steve Levitan wrote.

"That’s one of the ways Eric and I bonded back in 8th grade, over our mutual love for The Dick Van Dyke Show," he added. "And Monty Python, Jack Benny, The Carol Burnett Show, SNL and bad puns."

Matt Berry and Stan Zimmerman, Gilliland’s fellows from Roseanne, also honoured the late writer with respective posts.