Edward James; Comedy Writer for Radio, Television

Edward James, 87, a comedy writer who created the first radio episode of “Father Knows Best” in 1949 and then helped moved the show into television. Three years after being discharged from the Army, the free-lance comedy writer wrote the radio pilot for “Father Knows Best,” which became one of television’s most popular shows in the 1950s and early 1960s. His inspiration for the show came during his childhood, when he was sent to a military school at the age of 11 and longed for the comforts of home. “And I wanted to do a show in which the father wasn’t an idiot,” he told a reporter in 1991. His writing career spanned nearly 40 years and included such TV series as “Leave It to Beaver,” “The Addams Family,” “F Troop” and “Petticoat Junction.” He also wrote for “My Favorite Martian,” “No Time for Sergeants,” “My Three Sons” and “Make Room for Daddy.” On Monday in Escondido of the complications of emphysema.