Larry Gelbart

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Larry Gelbart
Born Larry Simon Gelbart
February 25, 1928(1928-02-25)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died September 11, 2009(2009-09-11) (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 11, 2009)[1] was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter and author.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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."

[edit] 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]

[edit] 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".

[edit] 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]

[edit] Writing Credits

[edit] M*A*S*H Episodes

The following is a list of M*A*S*H episodes written and/or directed by Gelbart.

[edit] Season One

  • Episode 1: The Pilot (Written by)
  • Episode 4: "Chief Surgeon Who?" (Written by)
  • Episode 11: "Germ Warfare" (Written by)
  • Episode 12: "Dear Dad" (Written by)
  • Episode 18: "Dear Dad...Again" (Written by with Sheldon Keller)
  • Episode 21: "Sticky Wicket" (Teleplay by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 23: "Ceasefire" (Teleplay by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 24: "Showtime" (Teleplay by with Robert Klane; Story by)

[edit] Season Two

  • Episode 1: "Divided We Stand" (Written by)
  • Episode 2: "Five O'Clock Charlie" (Written by with Laurence Marks & Keith Walker)
  • Episode 6: "Kim" (Written by with Marc Mandel & Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 7: "L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel)" (Written by with Carl Kleinschmitt & Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 9: "Dear Dad...Three" (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 11: "Carry On, Hawkeye" (Written by with Bernard Dilbert & Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 12: "The Incubator" (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 13: "Deal Me Out" (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 16: "Henry in Love" (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 19: "The Chosen People" (Written by Laurence Marks & Sheldon Keller)
  • Episode 20: "As You Were" (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 21: "Crisis" (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 23: "Mail Call" (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 24: "A Smattering of Intelligence" (Written by with Laurence Marks; Directed by)

[edit] Season Three

  • Episode 1: "The General Flipped at Dawn" (Directed by)
  • Episode 2: "Rainbow Bridge" (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 4: "Iron Guts Kelly" (Written by with Sid Dorfman)
  • Episode 5: "O.R." (Written by with Laurence Marks)
  • Episode 10: "There's Nothing Like a Nurse" (Written by)
  • Episode 16: "Bulletin Board" (Written by with Simon Muntner)
  • Episode 17: "The Consultant" (Story by)
  • Episode 19: "Aid Station" (Written by with Simon Muntner)
  • Episode 23: "White Gold" (Written by with Simon Muntner)
  • Episode 24: "Abyssinia, Henry" (Directed by)

[edit] Season Four

  • Episode 1: "Welcome to Korea" (Written by with Everett Greenbaum & Jim Fritzell)
  • Episode 3: "It Happened One Night" (Teleplay by with Simon Muntner)
  • Episode 9: "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?" (Directed by)
  • Episode 13: "The Gun" (Written by with Gene Reynolds)
  • Episode 15: "The Price of Tomato Juice" (Written by with Gene Reynolds)
  • Episode 18: "Hawkeye" (Written by with Simon Muntner; Directed by)
  • Episode 21: "Smilin' Jack" (Written by with Simon Muntner)
  • Episode 22: "The More I See You" (Written by with Gene Reynolds)
  • Episode 23: "Deluge" (Written by with Simon Muntner)
  • Episode 24: "The Interview" (Written & Directed by)

[edit] 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. 

[edit] Bibliography

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

[edit] External links
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