ASHTABULA — Thomas Perew made millions of television viewers laugh throughout his writing career.

Perew, an Ashtabula native who won an Emmy for his work on “The Dinah Shore Show,” died of lung cancer Friday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 63.

Perew was born Dec. 20, 1946, in Ashtabula General Hospital to Edmund and Monica Perew. His nurse was his aunt Adah Lamborn, who survives him and makes her home in Ashtabula. He was christened at St. Joseph’s Church on Lake Avenue.

A 1964 graduate of Edgewood Senior High School, Perew went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University and a master’s from Edinboro State College. He taught English for the Buckeye Local School District before moving to Hollywood. He also attended California State University and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he studied professional writing.

“I met him three days after he came out (to Los Angeles),” said his friend and attorney Steve Orlikoff of Los Angeles. “He wanted to get out of the small town.”

Orlikoff said Perew started a very successful career by sending jokes to Phyllis Diller and Dinah Shore, and they took notice. He became a television writer and worked on projects for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, E Entertainment, MTV, Court TV and ESPN.

He received an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement and 10 Emmy nominations for various TV shows. He won an Ace Award for cable television before that medium was linked with networks for awards.

He wrote for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Special Olympics several times. He worked for former California Gov. Jerry Brown and for Bob and Elizabeth Dole. He worked for Joan Rivers’ charities for three decades. He also wrote for her red-carpet celebrity interviews, her work on TV Guide and her nightclub act.

Throughout Perew’s career, he worked with Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Merv Griffin, Dolly Parton, Paul Lynde, Neil Diamond and many other prominent Hollywood stars. He also wrote for numerous award shows, Disney specials and more than 100 television shows, including “Mama’s Family,” and “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” He was a writer on the movie, “Look Who’s Talking.”

Penny Vaughn of Ashtabula was one of his students at Wallace H. Braden Junior High School before he moved West.

“He was a precious person,” Vaughn said. “He was my English teacher for two years.”

Buckeye Local School Board member Jackie Hillyer taught school with Perew, and they remained friends.

“We started teaching together at Braden,” she said. “He was one of my best friends, and my children’s godfather. … He was one of those incredibly decent people; he was honest and forthright. He was just somebody you could really trust.”

Hillyer said Perew was also very funny.

“I just cherished his friendship,” she said.

Orlikoff said Perew wrote wonderful jokes.

“He would sit down to his typewriter and write 60 to 70 jokes,” he said. “For years, he tried not to use a computer. He did later but still preferred his typewriter.”

Perew loved music — music from the 1970s,” Orlikoff said. “He had a tremendous collection of music. He knew a number of musicians and producers.”

Funeral is 1 p.m. Tuesday in the St. Joseph Cemetery Chapel. The Ashtabula home of Fleming and Billman Funeral Directors, 526 W. Prospect Road, Ashtabula, is handling the arrangements.



TV series

n “Comedy Break With Mack & Jamie,” syndicated, 1985

n “The Late Show,” Fox, 1986

n “D.C. Follies,” syndicated, 1987

n (With others) “Dolly,” ABC, 1987-1988

n Head writer, “The Joan Rivers Show,” syndicated, 1989

n “The New America’s Funniest People, ABC, 1990

n “Your Big Break,” syndicated, 1999

TV specials

n “Joan Rivers and Friends Salute Heidi Abromowitz,” 1985

n “The Patti Labelle Show,” NBC, 1985

n “Dom Deluise and Friends,” Part 3, ABC, 1985

n “Neil Diamond … Hello Again,” CBS, 1986

n “Disneyland’s Summer Vacation Party,” NBC, 1986

n “Walt Disney World Celebrity Circus,” NBC, 1987

n “Comic Relief II,” HBO, 1987

n “All-American Sports Nuts,” NBC, 1988

n “Loretta Lynn: Seasons of My Life,” The Nashville Network, 1992

n “A Busch Gardens/ Sea World Summer Celebration,” CBS, 1994

n “Superstar American Gladiators,” ABC, 1995

n “Nissan Presents a Celebration of America’s Music,” ABC, 1996

TV awards

presentations

n “American Video Awards,” ABC, 1985

n The ninth annual “Soap Opera Awards,” NBC, 1993

n The 10th annual “Soap Opera Digest Awards,” NBC, 1994

n The 11th annual “Soap Opera Awards,” NBC, 1995

n The 12th annual “Soap Opera Awards,” NBC, 1996

n The 13th annual “Soap Opera Awards,” NBC, 1997

n The 14th annual “Soap Opera Awards,” NBC, 1998

n The 15th annual “Soap Opera Awards,” NBC, 1999

n The 16th annual “Soap Opera Awards,” NBC, 2000

TV episodes

n (With Ann Elder) “Mama and Dr. Brothers,” Mama’s Family, syndicated, 1986

n (With Ann Elder) “Porn Again,” Mama’s Family, syndicated, 1986

Films

n (With Joan Rivers and others) “Look Who’s Talking,” TriStar, 1989