Ernest Chambers was a prolific writer and producer whose television work helped define the golden era of variety television in America.
After serving in the Army, he attended Columbia University, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the famed university humor magazine, The Jester. After graduating, he moved to New York City. He worked as an advertising copywriter by day, while writing comedy sketches and songs for the vibrant cabaret scene of the 1950s at night. In 1961, Chambers fulfilled his dream of making it to Broadway, writing for the Carol Channing revue, "Show Girl."
Chambers then headed to Hollywood, with a young family in tow, where he cut his teeth writing on such 1960s television hits as The Bob Newhart Show, The Danny Kaye Show, My Three Sons, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
After partnering with writer-producer Saul Ilson, the team of Ilson/Chambers took television by storm with the trailblazing variety show, The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour. A potent pop-culture and political satire-laced cocktail, the show became legendary for the battles Chambers and Ilson fought against network censors to bring the counterculture of the late 1960s to television sets across America.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Chambers produced a string of acclaimed television specials and series for stars such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Donna Summer, Carol Channing, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Sid Caesar, Tony Randall, Bobby Darin, Merv Griffin and Barry Manilow, in addition to the long-running series Dance Fever.
Through the 1990s and 2000s, he wrote the stage musical of "Dennis The Menace," executive produced the 1993 hit movie adaptation of the same name, and assumed the helm of Merv Griffin Entertainment as VP of Television & Film.
In 1997, he was the executive producer of the game show Click, for Merv Griffin Entertainment, which was one of the first hosting jobs for Ryan Seacrest.
Over his 50 year career, Ernest Chambers produced, wrote or executive produced over 1,000 hours of television. He was nominated 11 times for an Emmy and 4 times for The Writers Guild Award. His productions have received 51 Emmy nominations.
