Sherry Coben was a writer-producer best known for creating the groundbreaking television series Kate & Allie.

She recounted how a light went on in her head when she saw The Dick Van Dyke Show for the first time as a young girl. There was a woman writing comedy in a room full of men, making jokes and having fun. She didn't know women had that option. She said that right then and there she knew what she wanted to do. And eventually, she did just that.

Ms. Coben began her career in the art department at KYW-TV in Philadelphia, doing graphics, sets, illustration, and animation for all their local programming and The Mike Douglas Show. After moving to New York City, she wrote and produced multiple plays while working freelance as an artist for a wide range of television shows and magazines, and got her break in TV writing on the beloved NBC children’s program Hot Hero Sandwich, where she met her husband, film editor Patrick McMahon. Her work on Hot Hero Sandwich won her an Emmy Award.

She wrote for the ABC soap opera Ryan’s Hope before creating the hit CBS sitcom Kate & Allie, starring Jane Curtin and Susan St. James. The program’s honest and humorous depiction of female friendships, divorce, and ever-changing family structures resonated deeply with viewers and made the show a top-10 hit, running for six seasons.

Ms. Coben also notably served as a writer-producer on the CBS children’s television series Bailey Kipper’s P.O.V. and creator-writer of the web series "Little Women, Big Cars."

She wrote notable TV specials, multiple pilots, and signed overall deals with Universal and MTM developing various projects. She also won a Christopher Award for one of her very first shows. Their motto, “Better to Light One Candle Than to Curse the Darkness” was a phrase she lived and wrote by. She always strived to be positive and impactful, to say important things that meant something in her work, to leave the world a better place, and to touch people's hearts.

In addition to her work as a writer-producer, Ms. Coben spent many years as a proud mentor to young writers and artists. She was also an avid volunteer with the local schools, coaching the improv team, costuming the shows, pitching in to supplement the underfunded and undervalued arts programs in any way she could, anywhere she saw a gap, and shaping the lives of countless mentees.