Who was Duane Earl Poole? The Smurfs’ and ‘Hart To Hart’ Writer Dead at 74

Duane Earl Poole was an American writer who was a very talented writer and producer who was known for several films including  This Can’t Be Love, One Christmas, Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory, Sarah Plain and Tall, Surviving Gilligan’s Island, Return to the Batcave, A Season of Miracles, and more.

He died on April 1, 2023, in Studio City, CA. He died of cancer at the age of 74. He was survived by his husband, Frank V. Bonventre, and other in-laws; Anthony Bonventure, Patricia Bonventure, David Cappelli Sr., and  Bonventure Cappelli.

Poole was also an Advisory Board member of Musical Theatre Guild and was also credited for raising funds for the organization to pay tributes to several people including Tom Jones, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Harvey Schmidt, and more.

Born on September 15, 1948, Duane Earl Poole was raised in Kennewick, WA. He started his career by working for King World Productions in Seattle just after graduating from the University of Washington.

In 1975, he relocated to Los Angeles to work for Hanna-Barbera and became a renowned writer not long after for The Great Grape Ape, Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics, The All-New Super Friends House, The Surfs, and more.