Marc Cherry (born March 23, 1962) is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for creating the ABC dramedy series Desperate Housewives. Personal life Early life Marc Cherry was born in Long Beach and lived briefly in Oklahoma. His father was an accountant which required the family to relocate to California. After graduating from Troy High School in Fullerton, California, Cherry attended California State University, Fullerton. He graduated from the school’s theater program in 1995 and initially considered a career in performance. After winning $15,000 as a contestant on The $100,000 Pyramid in 1986, he decided to move to Hollywood and pursue writing work. His move came at a bad time; the 1988 writers strike hit as soon as Cherry arrived. Cherry broke into the industry by working as Designing Women star Dixie Carter's personal assistant. Political views Cherry was described in an article about him in Newsweek as a "somewhat conservative, gay Republican." Cherry is a registered Republican. He has since stated he "stopped being a Republican the second [Donald Trump's] foot hit the escalator." On June 29, 2006, Cherry accepted Log Cabin Republicans' American Visibility Award at a dinner in Hollywood where the main award recipient was California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who received the club's "Courage To Lead" Award. Career Early career In 1990, he became a writer and producer for the long-running hit sitcom The Golden Girls, and later its short lived spinoff The Golden Palace. Cherry next co-created The 5 Mrs. Buchanans, a sitcom centered on four women married to brothers and their difficult mother-in-law, which had a brief run on CBS during the 1994-1995 season. Cherry also co-created The Crew (1995). On his own, he later created Some of My Best Friends, a 2001 sitcom that was based in part on the 1997 film Kiss Me, Guido. Desperate Housewives In 2002, a conversation with his mother inspired him to develop a show about the fractured lives of four upper middle class suburban women. After HBO, FOX, CBS, NBC, Showtime, and Lifetime all passed on the show, Cherry got his big break when his agent was arrested and sent to jail for embezzlement. His new agents brought the show to ABC, which decided to pick it up. The series, Desperate Housewives, was an immediate ratings smash and generated enormous national (and subsequently, international) debate. Cherry received several lucrative offers from various parties, but