Kay Alden, former head writer of Y&R, "discovered" Eric quite by coincidence at a time when he happened to be between jobs, and subsequently worked with him for most of his tenure on the series. "Being Eric's mentor, friend, and colleague was a privilege. Coming from such a varied writing background, Eric immediately embraced the uniqueness of daytime television," Alden said. "He told me often he wished he had begun his career in this genre. Eric and I shared many laughs and tears, celebrated births and deaths, but our relationship was always long distance, and played itself out on the phone and the Internet. Suddenly, the air waves have been quieted."

Other TV writing credits include episodes of The Gene Autry Show, Hopalong Cassidy, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, Jr., Tales of the Texas Rangers, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Range Rider, The Lone Ranger, Maverick and The Beverly Hillbillies. He was also a head writer on the TV show Lassie for 13 seasons and wrote the feature film The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold in 1958. In addition, his work also appeared in dozens of classic comic books for Gold Key and Disney in the 1960s.

Born in Detroit in 1927, he served in the Navy during WWII. Soon after the war ended, he began his lifelong career as a writer. Eric's sense of humor was legendary among his colleagues. Although he lived in Los Angeles for much of his career, Eric moved to Prescott with his entire family in 1986 to escape the pressures of Hollywood. Best remembered for his love of movies and sharing tales of what it was like to work during Hollywood's golden age, it was spending time with his family that Eric loved the most.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, June; two daughters; one son; four grandsons; and one great-grandson.

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