The man behind
Desperate Housewives is almost as controversial as his campy prime-time soap. A self-declared "somewhat conservative, gay Republican," Cherry began his career in the late '80s as Dixie Carter's real-life personal assistant on
Designing Women before becoming a writer/producer on the last few seasons of
The Golden Girls. Over the years he worked on a handful of series, including
The Five Mrs. Buchanans, about four disparate wives married to a quartet of brothers, which starred
DH's Harriet Sansom Harris and featured a character named Bree. By the '00s Cherry seemed washed up. Years had passed since his last project, and HBO, FOX, CBS and NBC all passed on
Housewives. Finally, ABC took a chance on the show in 2004 and hit pay dirt. The next year Cherry was named by
Time as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2005.
Marc Cherry Fast Facts:- Family moved frequently during his childhood, living briefly in Hong Kong and Iran.
- Won $15,000 as a contestant on Dick Clark's game show, The $100,000 Pyramid, during the late '80s.
- Paid homage to composer Steven Sondheim by using his songs as episode titles for Desperate Housewives.
- Chose the name Wisteria Lane from The Book of Lists because, he told People magazine, "I wanted a beautiful name for the street. Later I found out that the vine crushes everything around it."
- Marc Cherry Relationships:
- Martha Cherry - Mother
- Truman Cherry - Father
- Marc Cherry Awards:
- 2005 Emmy: Outstanding Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2005 Emmy: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series - Nominee
- College:
- Attended California State University, Fullerton, CA
