| Larry Gelbart  AKA Larry Simon Gelbart
Born: 25-Feb-1928
Birthplace: Chicago, IL
Died: 11-Sep-2009
Location of death: Beverly Hills, CA
Cause of death: Cancer - unspecified
Gender: Male
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Film/TV Producer Nationality: United States
Executive summary: M*A*S*H Larry Gelbart began his career in radio, writing for Danny Thomas, Jack Carson and Bob Hope. As television rose in prominence he moved there, becoming a principal writer for Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows. His 1961 play, The Conquering Hero, lasted only a few performances on Broadway. But the following year, he co-authored the farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum to great success. It was a medium he returned to in 1989 with City of Angels. But Gelbart is best known for taking Robert Altman's 1968 anti-war novel M*A*S*H and adapting it into one of the most successful television series of all time. The show mixed comedy and drama, following the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the midst of the Korean War. The show lasted longer than the war itself. Its final episode on 28 February 1983 was seen by 125 million viewers, becoming the most-watched episode in the history of television. Film successes include Oh, God! and Tootsie. Gelbart remained active up to the point of his death in September 2009, having been diagnosed with cancer in June. Father: Harry Gelbart
Mother: Frieda Sturner
Wife: Pat Marshall (m. 1956, until his death, one son, one daughter)
Son: Adam
Daughter: Becky
High School: John Marshall High School, Chicago, IL
High School: Fairfax High School, Los Angeles, CA
Emmy 1974 for M*A*S*H (outstanding comedy)
Edgar Allan Poe Award 1990 for City of Angels (best play)
Latvian Ancestry Paternal
Polish Ancestry Maternal
TELEVISION
M*A*S*H Principal Writer (1972-76)
Your Show of Shows Writer (1950-54)
Author of books:
Laughing Matters: On Writing M*A*S*H, Tootsie, Oh, God!, and a Few Other Funny Things (1998)
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