Leonard Stern Passes Away at Age 87

[Benno123]

From Variety, Leonard Stern has passed away.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118038251?refCatId=14

'Honeymooners' creator dies
Leonard Stern also was a leader of the PGA
By Variety Staff
Producer, writer and director Leonard Stern, who created with Jackie Gleason the iconic TV series "The Honeymooners" as well as almost two dozen other series and 12 films and was also a leader of the Producers Guild of America, died Tuesday, June 7, in Los Angeles. He was 88.
Stern, who also partnered with Roger Price and Larry Sloan in the Price/Stern/Sloan literary publishing company, authored several books, including "Dear Attila the Hun" and "A Martian Wouldn't Say That!" Jay Leno has regularly dipped into the latter, a collection of memos from TV executives that they wish they hadn't written, on "The Tonight Show." The firm was launched with the popular Mad Libs, the word game created by Stern and Price and published since 1958.

Stern quickly grew to become one of the busiest creative forces in television, writing a season of "The Phil Silvers Show" (aka "Sergeant Bilko") and drawing a shared Emmy in the process, followed by 150 episodes as head writer of "The Steve Allen Show," for which he was also Emmy nommed. He also produced "Get Smart" for five years, earning an Emmy nomination for best comedy series and winning one, together with Buck Henry, for comedy writing.

Stern created "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster"; "He and She," drawing another shared Emmy nom; and "The Governor and J.J."

But he didn't always work in comedy, spending time in the detective genre as well. Stern wrote, directed and produced seven years of NBC's "McMillan and Wife," starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James, and also worked on the network's "The Snoop Sisters," with Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick, and "Lanigan's Rabbi," with Art Carney.

A native of New York City, Stern received a degree from the NYU School of Journalism.

His first screenplays were for 1950's "Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion" and the Abbott and Costello vehicle "Lost in Alaska." Other movie credits include the screenplays for "Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town"; "The Jazz Singer," starring Danny Thomas; and "Three for the Money," starring Jack Lemmon and Betty Grable. He co-wrote and directed 1979's "Just You and Me, Kid," starring George Burns, and 1992's "Missing Pieces," with Eric Idle and Robert Wuhl. For 20th Century Fox, he wrote the original script for "Target" (1985), starring Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon.

Stern's work in television won him two Emmy Awards, three Writers Guild of America Awards and a Peabody Award, as well as numerous Emmy nominations.

In l996, after Price/Stern/Sloan was sold to Putnam, Stern formed Tallfellow Inc., which sought to create a "story salon" for writers. The company aimed to be a virtual alternative story department for producers, directors, studios and independent filmmakers. His first project for Tallfellow was "Pledge of Allegiance" with Paramount Pictures.

In recent years, Stern served in the dual capacity as president and chairman of the Producers Guild of America and member of the steering committee and chair of the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors. In 1993, the caucus named him member of the year, and he received the Distinguished Service Award for outstanding lifetime achievement. In 1992, he received the Charles FitzSimons Honorary Lifetime Member Award from the Producers Guild.

Stern is survived by his wife, actress Gloria Stroock; a son and a daughter; two grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

Funeral Services and interment will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Mt. Sinai, 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills.

Donations may be made to the Writers Guild of America Foundation.

[Adamantium]

It's a shame he's gone now but look at all he gave us and worked on.

RIP, Mr. Stern.

[Zoneboy]

I was going to post this but thanks to being bombarded by damn pop-unders I couldn't do so.

[Marvo301]

Leonard Stern

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...no wonder the planned DVD release of Stern's "I'M DICKENS, HE'S FENSTER" this year was "postponed". I didn't know how ill he really was...

Incidentally, Stern started out as one of Abbott & Costello's radio writers during their final season on ABC (1948-'49); that's why he later co-wrote "Abbott & Costello in the Foreign Legion" and "Lost In Alaska".

R.I.P.

[Just My Show]

I had the pleasure of interviewing him a few years back. Wonderful guy.

He talked about how, during a "Honeymooners" writing session in his apartment, he asked his partner Roger Price for help with an adjective. With that, Mad Libs was born!

He'll be missed.