Milt Josefsberg
| Milt Josefsberg | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Milton Josefsberg June 29, 1911 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died |
November 14, 1987 (aged 76) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Television screenwriter/producer |
| Years active | 1960–1987 (his death) |
Milt Josefsberg (June 29, 1911 – December 14, 1987) was a radio writer for The Jack Benny Program, and later a writer for many television sitcoms, such as Archie Bunker's Place, All in the Family, Here's Lucy, The Lucy Show, The Odd Couple and The Jack Benny Show. He wrote books on the Jack Benny Show and comedy writing. Jim Wickey of The Green House, The Rip Borsley Show once commented about Josefsberg:
"Milt Josefsberg is an American success story. I doubt I would be writing if I had not been influenced by Milt, and I know that can be said for many of today's writers. The WGA picket line would be thinner without him!"
Also a producer and script reader, Josefsberg, who was called by Mel Shavelson, one-time creative partner and three-time Writers Gould of America (WGA) president "the maven of comedy",[1] did such for the television show, The Joey Bishop Show from 1961 to 1965, the film Butterfly (1979), as well as the TV series, You Can't Take It with You which ran from 1987 to 1988. He also penned the books The Jack Benny Show [2] and Comedy Writing for Television and Hollywood: For Television and Hollywood with Garry Marshall (executive producer of the ABC-TV sitcom series Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley) [3]
Family life and death
Josefsberg and wife Hilda and had two sons, Steven and Alan. Alan had two children, Suzi and Dean. Josefberg's great grandchildren, Amber and Taylor Ellison (Suzi's) and Mason and Matthew Josefsberg (Dean's), live today in Southern California. Josefsberg died in Burbank, California.
References/Bibliography
- ↑ Obituaries : Wrote for Benny, Hope, Lucille Ball : Milt Josefsberg; 'Maven of Comedy', Los Angeles Times, December 16, 1987, by Paul Feldman, Times Staff Writer, accessed September 22, 2013.
- ↑ The Jack Benny Show by Milt Josefsberg (Hardcover, 496 pages), ISBN 087000347X, ISBN 9780870003479, Arlington House Publishers, 1977.
- ↑ Comedy Writing for Television and Hollywood: For Television and Hollywood by Milt Josefsberg and Garry Marshall, (paperback), ISBN 0060960868, ISBN 978-0060960865, V Perennial, HarperCollins Publishers, September 1, 1987.