Richard Eustis, Creator of Head of the Class, Dead at 86

Richard Eustis, best known for creating the series Head of the Class, has passed away. He was 86 years old.

Eustis co-created the high school sitcom with Michael Elias. The series ran for five seasons from 1986 to 1991 and led to a 1992 spin-off called Billy, which Eustis and Elias also co-wrote. Head of the Class received the reboot treatment from HBO in 2021, but was canceled after one season. Eustis's writing partnership with Elias spanned several decades. 

He got his start in television in the 1960s, writing on variety shows for artists like Dean Martin and John Denver. Eustis won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for An Evening with John Denver in 1975.

Over the course of his career, Eustis also wrote episodes of Scrubs, Eye to Eye, and Dom DeLuise and Friends. 

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. She was previously a reporter/producer at Decider and is a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.