Larry Gelbart

Larry Simon Gelbart (born February 25, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois) is a prolific American comedy writer with over sixty years of credits. He began as a writer for Danny Thomas radio show during 1940s, and wrote for Jack Paar and Bob Hope. On 1950s television he worked for Sid Caesar on Caesar's Hour, along with other gifted comedy writers Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Carl Reiner. Larry Gelbart wrote the long-running Broadway farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Burt Shevelove and Stephen Sondheim in 1962, and collaborated with Shevelove on the British movie comedy, The Wrong Box. In 1972, Gelbart was one of the main forces behind the creation of the television (TV) series ''M*A*S*H'', writing and producing many episodes until leaving after the fourth season. Gelbart also wrote the screenplay to Oh, God! and Blame It on Rio, and in 1982 co-wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Tootsie. Gelbart's other Broadway credits include the musical City of... full article at wikipedia