Dale McRaven has died at the age of 83 of complications from lung cancer his son has confirmed.
The Emmy-nominated comedy writer and producer was best known for creating hit TV series Mork & Mindy and Perfect Stranger.
His son, David McRaven, told The Hollywood Reporter his dad died on September 5 at his home in Porter Ranch, California.
Elsewhere, Dale had served as a writer on the fifth and final season of The Dick Van Dyke Show. He also worked as writer-producer on The Partridge Family during the 1970s before creating the short-running sitcom Angie, which starred Donna Pescow and Robert Hays.
Other titles on his CV included American Style, Room 222, Get Smart and The Betty White Show.
He was convinced to work on Happy Days spinoff Mork & Mindy - which starred Robin Williams - by Garry Marshall, who also co-created Angie. He shared an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy nomination for his work on the show, but eventually lost out to Taxi.
He also received a nomination from the Writers Guild of America Awards for the sitcom.
His biggest hit, Perfect Strangers, aired for eight seasons and 150 episodes from 1986. He stepped away from the daily production of the series after a couple of years due to creative differences, but he continued to send in script notes for the popular series.
He retired from show business in the mid 1990s when he decided to take up photography and digital art.
Following the news of his death, fans of his work took to social media to pay their respects. One user on Twitter wrote: "Mork & Mindy holds a special place in my heart, RIP Dale McRaven."
Another commented: "Oh my goodness...........he gave us so much laughter! A true loss," while a third said: "Oh wow two of my favorite shows as a kid. RIP to him."
As well as son David, Dale is survived by his daughter Renee and his grandchildren Justin and Matthew.
