Larry Gelbart

Larry Gelbart
Born	Larry Simon Gelbart February 25, 1928(1928-02-25) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	September 12, 2009(2009-09-12) (aged 81) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Other names	Francis Burns, Elsig
Occupation	Author, playwright
Years active	1944–2009
Spouse	Patricia Marshall (1956–2009)
Signature

Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 12, 2009)^[1] was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter and author.

Biography

Early life

Gelbart was born in Chicago to Jewish immigrants Harry Gelbart ("a barber since his half of a childhood in Latvia")^[2] and Frieda Sturner, who migrated to America from Dombrowa,^{[disambiguation needed ]} Poland. Marcia Gelbart Walkenstein was his sister.

Television

Gelbart began as a writer at the age of sixteen for Danny Thomas' radio show after his father, who was Thomas' barber, showed Thomas some jokes Gelbart had written. During the 1940s Gelbart also wrote for Jack Paar and Bob Hope. In the 1950s, his most important work in television involved writing for Red Buttons, Sid Caesar on Caesar's Hour, in Celeste Holm's Honestly, Celeste!, as well as with writers Mel Tolkin, Michael Stewart, Selma Diamond, Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and (on two Caesar specials) Woody Allen.^[3]

In 1972, Gelbart was one of the main forces behind the creation of the television series M*A*S*H, writing the pilot (for which he received a "Developed for Television by..." credit) and then producing, often writing and occasionally directing the series for its first four seasons (1972–1976). M*A*S*H earned Gelbart a Peabody Award and an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series and went on to considerable commercial and critical success.

Films

Gelbart's best known screen work is perhaps the screenplay for 1982's Tootsie, which he co-wrote with Murray Schisgal. He was nominated for an Academy Award for that script, and also was Oscar-nominated for his original screenplay for 1977's Oh, God! starring George Burns.

He collaborated with Burt Shevelove on the screenplay for the 1966 British film The Wrong Box. Gelbart also co-wrote the golden-era film spoof Movie Movie (1978) starring George C. Scott in dual roles, the racy comedy Blame It on Rio (1984) starring Michael Caine and Demi Moore, and the 2000 remake of Bedazzled with Elizabeth Hurley and Brendan Fraser.

His script for Rough Cut (1980), a caper film starring Burt Reynolds and David Niven, was credited under the pseudonym Francis Burns.

Gelbart-scripted films for television included Barbarians at the Gate (1993), a true story about the battle for control of the RJR Nabisco corporation starring James Garner that was based on the best-selling book of that name; Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997) starring Ben Kingsley and Gabriel Byrne as rival media moguls and And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003) starring Antonio Banderas as the Mexican revolutionary leader.

Broadway

Gelbart co-wrote the long-running Broadway musical farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Burt Shevelove and Stephen Sondheim in 1962. Receiving lousy reviews and box office during its previews in Washington, D.C., rewrites and restaging helped; it was a smash Broadway hit and ran for 964 performances. Its book won a Tony Award. A film version starring Zero Mostel was released in 1966 with Gelbart and Shevelove's libretto largely rewritten. Gelbart was extremely critical of the movie.

Gelbart's other Broadway credits include the musical City of Angels, which won him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical and an Edgar Award. He also wrote the Iran-contra satire Mastergate, as well as Sly Fox and a musical adaptation of the Preston Sturges movie Hail the Conquering Hero; during that show's troubled development Gelbart uttered the now-classic line, "If Hitler is alive, I hope he's out of town with a musical."

Memoirs

In 1997, Gelbart published his memoir, Laughing Matters: On Writing M*A*S*H, Tootsie, Oh, God! and a Few Other Funny Things.^[2]

Blogger

Gelbart was a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post, and also was a regular participant on the alt.tv.mash Usenet newsgroup as "Elsig".

Death

Gelbart was diagnosed with cancer in June and died at his Beverly Hills home on September 11, 2009. His wife of 53 years, Pat Gelbart, said that after being married for so long, "we finished each other's sentences." She declined to specify the type of cancer he had.^[1][4]

Writing Credits

• Duffy's Tavern (1941–1951) (Radio)
• The Red Buttons Show (1952) (TV)
• Honestly, Celeste! (1954) (TV)
• Caesar's Hour (1954–1957) (TV)
• The Patrice Munsel Show (1957) (TV)
• The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1958) (TV)
• The Art Carney Show (1959) (TV)
• Startime (1959) (TV)
• The Best of Anything (1960) (TV)
• Hooray for Love (1960) (TV)
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (with Burt Shevelove) (1962) (Theater)
• The Notorious Landlady (with Blake Edwards) (1962)
• Judy and her guests, Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet (1963) (TV)
• The Thrill of It All (1963) (story only)
• The Danny Kaye Show (1963) (TV)
• The Wrong Box (with Burt Shevelove) (1966)
• Not with My Wife, You Don't! (with Norman Panama and Peter Barnes) (1966)
• A Fine Pair (1967) (uncredited)
• Eddie (1971) (TV)
• The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine (1971) (TV)
• Roll Out (1972) (TV)
• M*A*S*H (1972–1983) (TV) (also Co-Creator, with Gene Reynolds)
• If I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever? (1974) (TV)
• Karen (1975) (TV)
• Sly Fox (1976) (Theater)
• Three's Company (1976) (TV) (unaired pilot)
• Oh God! (1977)
• Movie, Movie (1978)
• United States (1980) (TV)
• Rough Cut (1980) (as Francis Burns)
• Neighbors (1981)
• Tootsie (with Murray Schisgal) (1982)
• AfterMASH (1983–1984) (TV) (also Creator)
• Blame it on Rio (1984)
• City of Angels (1989) (Theater)
• Master Gate (1990) (Theater)
• Barbarians at the Gate (1993) (TV)
• Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997) (TV)
• Laughing Matters: On writing M*A*S*H, Tootsie, Oh, God! And A Few Other Funny Things (1999) (Autobiography)
• C-Scam (2000) (TV)
• Bedazzled (with Harold Ramis and Peter Tolan) (2000)
• And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003) (TV)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} McLellan, Dennis (2009-09-11). "'MASH' writer Larry Gelbart dies at 81". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-larry-gelbart12-2009sep12,0,2812430.story. Retrieved 2009-09-11. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Gelbart, Larry (1998). Laughing Matters: On Writing MASH, Tootsie, Oh, God!, and a Few Other Funny Things. New York: Random House. ISBN 067942945X. 
3. ^ Malarcher, Jay (2003). The Classically American Comedy of Larry Gelbart. Lanham, Md.: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810847728.
4. ^ "'M-A-S-H' writer Larry Gelbart dies at 81". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ix5WW8PoZMC82BvqU_LEuyYkP97AD9ALDV4O0. Retrieved 2009-09-11. 

Bibliography

• Isenberg, Barbara. State of the Arts: California Artists Talk About Their Work. 2005

External links

• Larry Gelbart at the Internet Broadway Database
• Larry Gelbart at the Internet Movie Database
• Larry Gelbart - Daily Telegraph obituary
• Abrogate-Larry Gelbart play, online @ BBC Radio 4
• Old Time Radio Researchers Database of People and Programs
• Larry Gelbart Archive of American Television Interview
• Nonstop Laughs Larry Gelbart, TIME Magazine
• Larry Gelbart at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Gelbart, Larry
Alternative names	Gelbart, Larry Simon
Short description	American comedy writer and playwright
Date of birth	1928-02-25
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date of death	2009-09-11
Place of death	Beverly Hills, California, USA