TV Guide, November 3, 2003
Copyright © 2003 TV Guide Magazine Group, Inc.
By Russ Woody

You've probably heard plenty about how cold and callous the Hollywood crowd can be. That's often true. But if you look in the right places--like on the set of a TV show about a curmudgeonly doctor called Becker--you'll also find warmth and compassion.

In April 2001, a doctor at UCLA Medical Center told my father, Claude, that he was dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--also known as Lou Gehrig's disease--a condition that leaves the mind intact while it slowly diminishes the body's ability to use its muscles.

Two days after he returned home to Nevada, my mother died of complications of a bleeding ulcer. My parents had been married for 58 years. A month later, I bought my dad a house in Studio City, California, so he could be close to my wife and me and our two boys.

When the fourth season of Becker began that August, my dad started coming to the Tuesday-night filmings. I was proud to have him there, watching his writer-producer son in his workaday world. I was also amazed by the kindness and affection my coworkers showed him. Like Billy, the craft-services guy, who made fruit smoothies for my dad because he couldn't eat solid food. And our coproducer, Cheryl, who made sure a production assistant met my dad in front of the soundstage to take his car, so he wouldn't have to walk from the parking lot.

Or Sharon from wardrobe, who sewed a new latch on my father's neck brace as he began having trouble holding his head up. And Trent, an extra, who showed up at my dad's house to do handiwork and watch John Wayne movies with him. Hattie Winston and Saverio Guerra (Margaret and Bob on the show) would always make their way across the stage to hug him, as did Ted Danson, who loved to make fun of the leather slippers my dad wore because his shoes were starting to hurt his feet. It wasn't long before executive producer Dave Hackel began to refer to my dad as "Becker's mascot."

Around Christmastime, another writer on the show suggested doing an episode about my dad and his LightWRITER?the handheld computer he used to communicate, since he could no longer talk. The story we worked up was about an old man who has ALS and can?t speak, so Becker gets him a LightWRITER. Once he can express himself again, the old man turns into a complete asshole. I stopped by my dad?s house that night to see if he was OK with the idea. He laughed and gave me a thumbs-up.

Tom Poston was cast in the part. His wife, we found out later, had died from ALS a few years before. Ted and Tom were wonderful together, and the attention my father received was nothing like he?d ever experienced before. Entertainment Tonight and E! did segments on him. The Muscular Dystrophy Association invited us to a black-tie dinner in Beverly Hills, where they would pay tribute to the episode and , consequently, to my dad. That evening he listened to Ted Danson tell 800 people how he had grown to love and respect him. When it was my turn, I talked about my father?s heroism, in both World War II and in the everyday stuff when I was growing up. I said I was proud of the courage he showed as he faced ALS. Then I told him I loved him.

After we finished shooting the last episode of the season, everyone started to assemble for the annual cast-and-crew photo. As my dad and I approached the group of 120 or so of my coworkers, everyone moved aside so that Dad had a clear path to the couch where Ted and Hattie were sitting. They scooted apart and made a place for him to sit. It was one of the nicest things I?d ever seen.

As we started the fifth season of Becker, my dad was only able to make it to the first few filmings. He died on a Sunday in September. The following day, I told everyone on the set the he had left a message on his LightWRITER and wanted me to play it for them. I pushed the button and the machine said, ?Ted and Hattie and Saverio and all of Becker, thank you for being so nice to me. It was a good year. My love to you all.? Finally, I took out my dad?s beat-up leather slippers and handed them to Ted. My dad had written a note on one of them. It read, ?Ted, you said you wanted these. Love, Woody.?

My experience on the set during my father?s illness and after his death meant everything to me. To Ted Danson and everyone at Becker I will always be in debt.

TV Guide and Paramount Pictures will shine the spotlight on Lou Gehrig's disease November 3 with the publication of a television producer's remembrance of his father's battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), coupled with the sale of a specially produced video of last year's Becker episode that was based on this touching story. All proceeds from the sale of the CBS sitcom episode will support the work of The ALS Association (ALSA).

Producer Russ Woody's story in the November 3 issue of TV Guide recounts his father's courageous battle with ALS -- a fight that inspired the episode, titled "Talking Points," that aired in March 2002.

In "Talking Points," actor Tom Poston plays a person with ALS who has lost the ability to speak, a condition that can be a symptom of this disease. Poston is brought, by his daughter, to see Dr. Becker, played by Ted Danson, who sets out to help him acquire a computerized communications device.

Paramount is releasing 1000 videos of "Talking Points" for sale at $9.99 and an additional 50 copies, signed by Danson, at $14.99. The video also features Danson's original public service announcement for ALSA that aired at the conclusion of the episode. The video is available for purchase only at The TV Guide Store at http://shop.tvguide.com.

The "Talking Points" video release is a first for Paramount. Paramount's promotional announcement to support the sale of the videos is on Paramount's website at www.paramount.com/television/becker. The Paramount announcement links visitors to The TV Guide Store and to ALSA's website at www.alsa.org.

"This episode of Becker represents a landmark public awareness accomplishment by the television industry in the fight against ALS," said Michael W. Havlicek, president and chief executive officer of ALSA. "The ALS community and the fight against ALS are aided by TV Guide's and Paramount's caring projects that extend support for ALSA's efforts to find a cure for this devastating disease with every viewing of Talking Points."

The story line in Talking Points is based on Woody's father, Claude, who died of ALS in 2002 just a few months after the episode aired. Previously co-executive producer of Becker, Woody is currently one of the executive producers of The Drew Carey Show. His story about his father's struggle with ALS, first diagnosed in 2001, recounts the experiences of both father and son on the Becker set during the filming of the episode.

"When TV Guide first proposed the idea of making the tapes available, I talked to Paramount and the whole thing just rolled," Woody said. "I remember, the evening we shot the episode my dad was sitting in the audience and everybody there knew the story was kind of about him, so there was a lot more meaning behind the words. It made for a memorable evening."

"I hope that this episode of Becker will help the term ALS creep into the American vernacular more than it has," he continued. "It's unusual for a sitcom to be able to say much of anything in depth. But, the more that people are aware of ALS, the sooner something will be done about this insidious disease."

The Association's new public awareness campaign, "Fighting ALS is a Full-Time Job," is highlighted on the cover of the specially packaged video.

Danson, whose public service announcement on behalf of ALSA aired in 2002, took a special interest in the video release project and the Woody article by signing the episode video jackets.

"The ALS Association is deeply grateful to Ted Danson for this new project and for his continuing commitment to using his celebrity to elevate the public consciousness about ALS," Havlicek said.