David Handelman, Writer on Four Aaron Sorkin TV Series, Dies at 63

As a fellow enthusiast of the arts and journalism world, I can’t help but feel a profound sense of respect and admiration for David Handelman. His life was nothing short of extraordinary, with his journey taking him from the vibrant pages of Rolling Stone to the pulsating heart of television writing.

David Handelman, a former print journalist who transitioned to TV writing and contributed to shows like Aaron Sorkin’s “Sports Night,” “The West Wing,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” and “The Newsroom,” has passed away at the age of 63.

Handelman passed away on August 15 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York due to the complexities of Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, an uncommon type of blood cancer, as confirmed by producer David Van Taylor to The Hollywood Reporter.

Additionally, Handelman contributed to the writing process for the 2006 CBS show “Love Monkey”, season six of The CW’s “One Tree Hill” in 2008-09, season two of ABC’s “Nashville” from 2013-14, and season three of DirecTV’s “Rogue” during the year 2015.

More recently, he served as a staff producer and writer for nearly a decade on CNN’s show “Smerconish.” After his demise, they honored him on the air during those subsequent days.

Prior to the advent of television, Handelman served as a staff writer at Rolling Stone magazine, penning articles on a diverse range of subjects, from musical groups such as Beastie Boys and Talking Heads to comedian Sam Kinison, folk artist Howard Finster, and AIDS activist group ACT UP. In addition, he oversaw the production of issues centered around comedy.

Afterward, he held the position of arts editor at Vogue and contributed articles to various periodicals such as The New York Times, New York magazine, GQ, Details, Premiere, and Spy.

Growing up in Scarsdale, New York, I was born on April 23, 1961. My big break in television came when I wrote a script for HBO’s ‘The Larry Sanders Show’, collaborating with Mark McKinney from the ‘Kids in the Hall’. Interestingly enough, I had previously written an article about a Canadian TV show for ‘Rolling Stone’ back in 1988.

Aaron Sorkin discovered this piece and subsequently enlisted their services to pen a freelance script for the first season episode “The Sword of Orion” on ABC’s Sports Night, which aired in 1999.

Next year, I transformed my real-life disastrous job interview with Michael Jordan into the second season’s episode, titled “The Sweet Smell of Air,” from my own gaming perspective.

In 2002, Handelman became part of the team for season four of “The West Wing” – Sorkin’s last year – on NBC. Later, he worked on NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” from 2006 to 2007 and HBO’s “The Newsroom” in 2012. Many of the storylines and details in Sorkin’s works were shaped by Handelman’s background as a journalist.

Besides that, he contributed articles to several platforms such as “The Jane Pauley Show” syndicate, ABC’s “Good Morning America”, and CNN’s “In the Arena”, which is fronted by Eliot Spitzer.

Here are some intriguing anecdotes from Handelman’s backstage journey, such as the tale when he managed to connect his mom with Bruce Springsteen, can all be discovered here.

Over the past few years, he emerged as a key figure within an online fanbase dedicated to the band Wilco, which grew significantly during the COVID-19 lockdown. More recently, last year, he took on the role of a picket line leader during the Writers Guild of America strike.

Handelman’s life was celebrated Saturday on New York’s Upper West Side during a service that was attended by more than 400 people, including many industry professionals. One eulogy was delivered by McKinney.

Living on are his wife, Syd Sidner, along with their daughters, Helen and Nancy, as well as his siblings, Dan and Matt.

2024-09-18 01:54

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