cooley high

Rather interesting piece over at The Los Angeles Times, about Eric Monte, a writer who created such television classics as Good Times and What's Happening, wrote the 70s film Cooley High, wrote for Moesha and The Wayan Brothers, and even created the characters of George and Louise Jefferson on All in the Family.

He is now homeless and living in a shelter in Los Angeles.

Part of it is because of a bad crack addiction he had (he's clean now), but a lot of it was because of a series of strokes he had, plus a lawsuit he filed against Norman Lear, Bud Yorkin, CBS, and ABC for stealing his ideas for Good Times, What's Happening, and other projects (he got a million dollar settlement, years ago).

This is also, as Lee Goldberg says, a cautionary tale about the world of self-publishing. Monte spent thousands of his own money to publish and market a book, but no one was interested in it.