Comedy writers for Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows:" (from left, front row) Gary Belkin, Sheldon Keller, Michael Stewart and Mel Brooks; (from left, back) Neil Simon , Mel Tolkin, and Larry Gelbart. (pbs/file 1956)
Posted on 09/11/2009 1:56:26 PM PDT by Borges
Larry Gelbart, the award-winning comedy writer best known for developing the landmark TV series "MASH," co-writing the book for the hit Broadway musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and co-writing the classic movie comedy "Tootsie," died this morning. He was 81.
Gelbart, who was diagnosed with cancer in June, died at his home in Beverly Hills, said his wife, Pat.
Jack Lemmon once described the genial, quick-witted Gelbart as "one of the greatest writers of comedy to have graced the arts in this century."
Gelbart's more than 60-year career began in radio during World War II when he was a 16-year-old student at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. He wrote for "Duffy's Tavern" and radio shows starring Eddie Cantor, Joan Davis, Jack Paar, Jack Carson and Bob Hope, with whom he traveled overseas when Hope entertained the troops.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
RIP and thank you for many many laughs...
Yes. MASH was great. So was the movie Mastergate (it’s on YouTube.)
I'd tend to agree with that.
I still laugh at M*A*S*H today. Excellent writing.
MASH was a great show, and one of the few cases (IMHO) were the tv series was better than the movie it was based on (wasn’t a huge fan of the feature film, though Robert Duvall was a very good Frank Burns).
I generally preferred the earlier shows because of Wayne Rogers and MaClean Stevenson. Henry Morgan was good as Sherman Potter, but I was never a big fan of Mike Farrell.
God bless him and his surviving family and friends. He was very talented.
I listen to "duffys tavern" on satellite radio, and the show holds up remarkably well. It's just as funny as any sitcom out there, and funnier than many.
CC
Talented writer. RIP, Mr. Gelbart.
RIP sir, I still watch re-runs of your great show.MASH is much better than 99% of the trash that’s on the tube today.
Trapper: If you won’t help us, we’ll tell everyone your brother’s in prison!
Henry Blake: My brother is the warden!
Hawkeye: We won’t say that part!
Setup: Frank Burns has been left in charge for a day. Insisting on inspecting the troops, he nitpicks every little thing and promptly gets everyone p.o.’d at him.
Frank Burns: I didn’t come here to be liked!
Radar: Well you sure came to the right place.
Henry Blake: Captain Sloan here is with supply.
Captain Sloan: More accurately, I'm with the 375th Q. M. H. Q., COMSEAPAC, SEOULSEC REPDEP.
Hawkeye: Maybe I'll have that drink.
Captain Sloan: Now, the business at hand is an incubator, that is if my lieutenant understood what your colonel said you captains want.
Hawkeye: Right.
Trapper: And we need one as soon as possible.
Captain Sloan: Well, let's see what the good book says.
Hawkeye: The good book?
Captain Sloan: The Manual of Supply and Requisition.
Hawkeye: MANSUPREQ.
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