RIP, Larry Gelbart

[Huggy]

Larry used to drop by a MASH message board I frequented and would always answer fans' questions about certain episodes or scenes.

 

[BNWriter]

Loved MASH (Still do). Enjoyed Tootsie. But I always enjoyed listening to Gelbart talk about doing the research for MASH (interviewing Korean War vets....Doctors, nurses, officers) for authentic ideas for the show. I think he admitted that, in season one, they resorted to rehashed Army jokes, and once the show picked up, the producers did those interviews.

RIP, Mr. Gelbart.

 

[finishthehat]

It's mentioned in Smasher's post, but Gelbart wrote the book for two pretty damn good musicals -- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and City of Angels.

 

[Board Stiff]

Alan Alda pays tribute:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-alda-gelbart14-2009sep14,0,5460314.story

 

[KVV]

Smasher, as someone who loves Levine's blog and visits it regularly, I have to ask: Why not link that article?

Or, at the very least, quote only the first three paragraphs? Levine's blog is one of the best out there for those who love discussions about the art of writing for television, the pitching of spec scripts, and the inside baseball of screenwriting and producing. Give him a little traffic, or at the least, let others discover his blog.

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/