Chermak started his career at the age of 17. From 1950 - 1954, Chermak was head writer for the new
DuMont Television Network crime drama television series
Rocky King Detective. He wrote the
screenplay for the 1959 film
4D Man with Theodore Simonson. In 1967, he became an
executive producer for the new
NBC crime drama television series
Ironside. In 1971, Chermak was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy for his work on Ironside. He would go on to write and produce several television programs, including
Kolchak: The Night Stalker,
Barbary Coast,
Murder at the World Series, and spinoff television series
Amy Prentiss. In 1978, he became a
producer for the new NBC series
CHiPs. He would go on to produce 125 episodes of the show. In 1998, Chermak was a screenwriter for the
television film Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Families. He wrote the script with his wife,
Francine Carroll, for which they were nominated for a
Writers Guild of America Award. In 2016, Chermak wrote the book ''The Show Runner: An Insider's Guide to Successful Television Production''. == Death ==