Deadline has reported that Emmy-winning producer of the series Seinfeld, Tom Cherone (Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Just In Time), has passed away at the age of 86. A representative told the press that Cherone died in his home in Florence, Oregon, after a battle with Alzheimer’s. 

According to Deadline, Cherone was born in Tuscaloosa, Al. He attended the University of New Mexico and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He would go on to receive a master’s degree in telecommunications from the University of Alabama. Additionally, he was a veteran having served four years in the United States Navy.

Deadline has reported that Cherone’s television career began during his tenure at the University of Alabama, where he worked in educational programming. He would later produce and direct programs for WQED in Pittsburgh. His first Hollywood gig would come in 1975 as a production manager at a general hospital.

According to Deadline, His first credit as television director was on the CBS comedy series My Sister Sam, on an episode entitled “Babe In The Woods”. Starting in 1990, he began his work on Seinfeld, a relationship that would eventually culminate in 85 episodes. He earned a DGA award for the episode “The Contest,” a work frequently cited as one of the greatest episodes of television of all time. Some of his other notable episodes include “The Chinese Restaurant” and “The Parking Lot.”

Deadline has reported that Cherone left Seinfeld at the behest of Jerry Seinfeld (Bee Movie, Unfrosted). Cherone spoke about his exit in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation.  “He was tired of the same thing, I guess. We changed writers almost every season, and finally, he just wanted somebody else, another presence, to try to keep it fresh.

According to Deadline, Cherone was a member of the 2003 class of inductees to the Alabama Stage And Screen Hall Of Fame. He would teach at his alma mater, The University of Alabama, from 2002-2004.