George Yanok, who earned two Emmy Awards for co-writing Lily Tomlin TV specials in the 1970s, died Friday in Nashville after an 18-month battle with lung cancer, his stepdaughter, Katie Hill, announced. He was 83.
One of the original writers on CBS’ Hee Haw, Yanok also wrote and/or produced for such other shows as Welcome Back, Kotter, Sanford & Son, The Bob Newhart Show, Too Close for Comfort, The Stockard Channing Show and the Bewitched spinoff, Tabitha.