Comedy Screenwriter, Producer. Born Larry Simon Gelbart, he is best known for developing the landmark TV series "M*A*S*H". He began his career in the 1940s, writing for radio shows starring Eddie Cantor, Joan Davis, Jack Paar, Jack Carson and Bob Hope, with whom he traveled overseas when Hope entertained the troops. In the early 1950s, he moved to television on the writing staff of "Caesar's Hour", sharing three Emmy nominations for comedy writing in 1956, 1957 and 1958. In 1971, he was contracted by producer-director Gene Reynolds to write a pilot script for a TV series based on the movie "M*A*S*H" (1970). It debuted on CBS in 1972, with Gelbart as executive script writer. He served with Gene Reynolds as executive producer for 97 episodes and received an Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series in 1974. After leaving "M*A*S*H" in 1976, he wrote plays for Broadway and received Oscar nominations for his screenwriting of "Oh, God" (1977) and "Tootsie" (1982). He also wrote scripts for the films "Movie Movie" (1978), "Neighbors" (1981), "Blame It on Rio" (1984) and the HBO movies "Barbarians at the Gate" (1993), "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (1997) and "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself" (2003). He died of cancer.
Comedy Screenwriter, Producer. Born Larry Simon Gelbart, he is best known for developing the landmark TV series "M*A*S*H". He began his career in the 1940s, writing for radio shows starring Eddie Cantor, Joan Davis, Jack Paar, Jack Carson and Bob Hope, with whom he traveled overseas when Hope entertained the troops. In the early 1950s, he moved to television on the writing staff of "Caesar's Hour", sharing three Emmy nominations for comedy writing in 1956, 1957 and 1958. In 1971, he was contracted by producer-director Gene Reynolds to write a pilot script for a TV series based on the movie "M*A*S*H" (1970). It debuted on CBS in 1972, with Gelbart as executive script writer. He served with Gene Reynolds as executive producer for 97 episodes and received an Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series in 1974. After leaving "M*A*S*H" in 1976, he wrote plays for Broadway and received Oscar nominations for his screenwriting of "Oh, God" (1977) and "Tootsie" (1982). He also wrote scripts for the films "Movie Movie" (1978), "Neighbors" (1981), "Blame It on Rio" (1984) and the HBO movies "Barbarians at the Gate" (1993), "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (1997) and "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself" (2003). He died of cancer.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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