Paul Avila Mayer (May 28, 1928 – July 10, 2009) was an American television writer and producer.
Personal life
Mayer was born May 28, 1928, in Los Angeles, the son of Edwin Justus Mayer and Frances O'Neill.[1][2] He was married to actress and comedian Sasha Von Scherler, born Alexandra-Xenia Elizabeth Anne Marie Fiesola von Schoeler,[3] who died in 2000 of lung disease,[4] the daughter[5] of a flapper,[6] disciple of David Belasco,[3] and actress, Ruth Hooper (née Dayton) von Schoeler Litscher, and a Prussian baron, Walram-Voystingus Albert Alexander von Schoeler.[4] Paul and Sasha had three daughters together, Rachael, Ruth, and Daisy.[7]
Mayer was nominated for ten Daytime Emmy Awards in the categories Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, for his work on Ryan's Hope. He was nominated annually except for 1982, from 1977 to 1984, and won eight times in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, and 1984. His first win was shared with Claire Labine and Mary Ryan Munisteri, and his first nomination was shared with Labine and Robert Costello.
After Ryan's Hope
According to an interview with co-creator Claire Labine, after the show's cancellation in 1989, Mayer went back to school at the age of 56. He earned a Master of Social Work degree and then studied at a psychoanalytic institute, launching a successful career as a psychoanalyst. Mayer died on July 10, 2009, of a brain tumor.[8]
^"California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGLW-F2PH : 18 January 2018), Paul Avila Mayer, 28 May 1928; citing Birth, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, California State Archives, Sacramento.
Hooper, Ruth (16 July 1922). "Flapping Not Repented Of". New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2024 – via humanitiesresource.com.
^"Michigan Obituaries, 1820-2006," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVP1-42XX : 17 March 2018), Paul Avila Mayer in entry for Sasha Von Scherler, 2000; citing, Obituary, Grand Rapids Public Library, Michigan; FHL microfilm 7,597,950.