Editing Sidney Sheldon (section)

=== Television ===
When television became the new popular medium, Sheldon decided to try his hand in it. "I suppose I needed money," he remembered. "I met [[Patty Duke]] one day at lunch. So I produced ''The Patty Duke Show'', and I did something nobody else in TV ever did. For seven years, I wrote almost every single episode of the series."<ref name="AP Obit" />

After seeing Duke's performance as [[Helen Keller]] in ''[[The Miracle Worker (1962 film)|The Miracle Worker]]'' (1962), Sheldon cast the actress as the two sitcom leads, identical cousins, Patty and Cathy Lane.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/patty-duke-show|title=Patty Duke Show, The|date=2017-10-22|website=Television Academy Interviews|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref> Following the show's success, Sheldon had signed an agreement with [[Screen Gems]] to handle the development of various television series.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1964-06-15 |title=Fates & Fortunes |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/64-OCR/1964-06-15-BC-OCR-Page-0093.pdf |access-date=2021-10-30}}</ref>

In 1965, Sheldon created, produced, and wrote ''I Dream of Jeannie'' starring [[Barbara Eden]] and [[Larry Hagman]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/news/i-dream-of-jeannie-facts|title=Unbottling Jeannie: Magic and Mischief on the Set of a Sitcom Favorite|last=Cashill|first=Robert|website=Biography|language=en-us|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref> He wrote all but two dozen scripts in five years, sometimes using three pseudonyms (Mark Rowane, Allan Devon, and Christopher Golato) while simultaneously writing scripts for ''The Patty Duke Show''. He later said that he did this because he felt his name was appearing too often in the credits as creator, producer, copyright owner, and writer of these series.<ref>Marsha Ann Tate & Earl Houser, ''What America Watched: Television Favorites from the Cornfields to the Cosmos'', McFarland, 2022, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cD1ZEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Mark+Rowane%22+%22Allan+Devon%22+%22Christopher+Golato%22&pg=PA99 p. 99]</ref>

Production for ''I Dream of Jeannie'' ended in 1970 after five seasons.  "During the last year of ''I Dream of Jeannie'', I decided to try a novel," he said in 1982. "Each morning from 9 until noon, I had a secretary at the studio take all calls. I mean every single call. I wrote each morning — or rather, dictated — and then I faced the TV business."<ref name="AP Obit" />

In 1970, Sheldon wrote all 17 episodes of the short-lived series ''[[Nancy (TV series)|Nancy]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/nancy/|title=Nancy|website=Television Obscurities|date=August 14, 2009 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref>

In 1979, Sheldon created and wrote for the series ''[[Hart to Hart]]'' starring [[Robert Wagner]] and [[Stefanie Powers]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paleycenter.org/2010-fall-hart-to-hart-reunion|title=One from the Hart: A Hart to Hart Reunion|website=The Paley Center for Media|date=September 14, 2010|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref> The show aired on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and ran for five seasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hart-to-hart-gay-remake_n_55f9cee9e4b08820d9171e6c|title=There's A Gay Remake In Store For This Iconic TV Series|last=Wong|first=Curtis M.|date=2015-09-18|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}}</ref>