Sherry Coben, Creator of ‘Kate and Allie,’ Writer for Hot Hero Sandwich, Dies at 71

 by G. Jack Urso

Sherry Coben (Variety).

Sad news for the Hot Hero Sandwich community. From Variety: Sherry Coben, Creator of ‘Kate and Allie,’ Dies at 71.

Sherry Coben, in addition to creating the hit 1980s TV series Kate and Allie, was one of the Emmy Award-winning writers for Hot Hero Sandwich. In fact, she met her husband, Patrick McMahon, the show's film editor, while working on the series. In late December 2022, Sherry read an article I wrote about Hot Hero Sandwich on my blog Aeolus 13 Umbra and reached out to inquire if I was interested in asking her any questions about the show, and thus was the Hot Hero Sandwich Project born — an ongoing effort which, to date, has resulted in twenty interviews, nearly seventy articles, and over 220 video clips all hosted on a dedicated website and YouTube channel.

Sherry put me in contact with other writers and individuals connected with the show and got the whole ball rolling. She was a patient mentor and generous with her time. Before the project came along, there was very, very little information about the series available, and what was sometimes was inaccurate. Sherry changed all that. Every word written, every video clip posted, exists because Sherry never lost faith in the promise of what Hot Hero Sandwich could have been. 

In the initial phases of the project, Sherry proofread the interviews before I posted the articles. She often added information and details that would otherwise have been lost to history, such as the classic Hot Hero Sandwich logo being designed by my local Niskayuna, NY, native (and National Lampoon graphic designer) David Kaestral, or the opening credits directed by the uncredited John Nicolella, who later became one of the leading directors for Miami Vice.

As a writer, I can't tell you the anxiety I felt having an Emmy-Award winning writer and a hit series creator read my work. Yet, Sherry always treated me as a colleague, not as the fanboy I really was. 

I remembered the show's sketches about dealing with divorce, death, and family dysfunction. They uncomfortably reflected my life in 1979. In a way, all of us Hot Hero Sandwich fans were raised a little bit by Sherry and the other writers, as well as the cast and the band. Her passing is a great loss to the project and our community. 

The interviews below with Sherry and Pat were the very first ones I conducted for the Hot Hero Sandwich Project and give a glimpse into their passion for the show that continued after so many years.

• Hot Hero Sandwich: A Second Serving! A Retrospective Interview with Writer Sherry Coben and Film Editor Patrick McMahon — Introduction 
• A Second Serving! Part I: Origins
• A Second Serving! Part II: Production Notes and Broadcast History
• A Second Serving! Part III: Commercials, Demographics, and Music

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