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THE PANELISTS
Larry Gelbart
Larry Gelbart was born the son of Latvian immigrants who cracked
wise all day long, and he along with them, in Yiddish: "There were
no English subtitles," he has remarked, "so I didn't know what the
hell I was saying." At the age of 15, Gelbart moved with his family
from Chicago to Los Angeles, where his father became barber to the
show-business elite -- and bragged enough about his son's talent
to get him an audition with radio funnyman Danny Thomas. One thing
led to another, and instead of going to college, the young Gelbart
received an education in comedy that helped him become what many
term the thinking person's comedian.
He walks tall among television fans as the legendary creator of M*A*S*H and the writer of HBO's brilliant movie BARBARIANS AT THE GATE. The Broadway musical "City of Angels" was based on his book and won the Tony for Best Book for a Musical and Best Musical and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. He has also received a unique Drama Desk Award for his Special Contributions to Comedy. He also received a Tony Award, with Burt Shevelove, for co-authoring the stage musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."
For the small screen, he wrote for CAESAR'S HOUR and, in addition to M*A*S*H, created the series UNITED STATES. His film OH, GOD! was nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay and received the Writers' Guild and Edgar Allen Poe awards in 1977. His screenplay for TOOTSIE received the Los Angeles and New York Society of Film Critics Award, the Writers' Guild Award for Original Screenplay, and nominations for the Oscar and British Academy Awards.
BARBARIANS AT THE GATE earned him a Cable Ace Award, an Emmy as Outstanding TV Movie, the Golden Globe, the Writers' Guild Award, and was named Best Program of the Year by the Television Critics Association. His memoir, LAUGHING MATTERS, was published by Random House in 1998.
Shecky Greene
Shecky Greene is considered by his peers to be the consummate nightclub performer. As a headliner in Las Vegas for more than 30 years, he has been seen by an estimated six million people. He does not have an "act," but each performance is tailored to his audience. He is truly a "comedian's comedian," who not only tells jokes, but sings, tells stories, improvises songs during a show -- and occasionally becomes quite physical on stage.
Las Vegas is known for featuring the world's best and most talented performers, and Shecky's has always been the "show to see" -- not only for hotel guests, but for those who live there as well. His comedic talent is enjoyed by other entertainers who on their nights off stay after their own engagements to watch him perform. No less an eminence than Jerry Lewis calls him "the epitome of comic genius."
Greene hails from Chicago and began his career near Milwaukee while still in college. In the late '40s, he was hired as a comedian at a club in New Orleans, a stint that was supposed to last a few weeks, but turned into three years. He left college for good when Martha Raye asked him to play her club in Miami, and later returned to Chicago to work at the famed nightspot Chez Paree. His move to Las Vegas was a natural step in his career. It was then that he introduced Elvis to the Las Vegas audience when Presley performed as Greene's opening act at the Frontier Hotel.
Greene has appeared in many films, including THE LOVE MACHINE, THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART I, and SPLASH. On television, he has been a guest star on ROSEANNE, NORTHERN EXPOSURE, MAD ABOUT YOU, and LAVERNE & SHIRLEY.
Some musings by producer Tom Werts on Greene's individual and influential style: "Without Shecky Greene, there would not be a Robin Williams, no Jonathan Winters. His act was never stand-up; they were these surreal little musical plays where he would sing and do characters for 90 minutes. He didn't write them down -- they were in his head. It's an instinct with him. Alan, who is a real student of this, has always said, 'Shecky is one of the smart ones. He just doesn't know how smart he is.'"
Top banner photos: Bill Maher; host Alan King; Rita Rudner; Shecky Greene. |
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Bill Maher and Alan King. |
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Alan King and Rita Rudner. |
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The program is not available from Shop Thirteen or Shop PBS. |
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