Thursday, January 30, 1997
COMEDY:
Larry Gelbart honored for career in film, television, theaterBy
Emily Forster
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Young comics, beware. Some of the legendary comedians from the
’60s and ’70s got together and came to the conclusion that they are
a force to be reckoned with.
On Tuesday night at the Writer’s Guild in Beverly Hills some of
the pasts’ greatest comedians, from Mel Brooks to Alan Alda were
present to honor comedic writer Larry Gelbart. Some of today’s up
and coming comics were also there to honor the film, television and
theater writer. The host of the festivities to honor Gelbart,
"Politically Incorrect’s" Bill Maher and "Larry Sanders’" Jeffrey
Tambor were among the cluster of comics that attended the event,
proving that today’s comics have great admiration for, and may also
be keeping a wary eye out, for these past artists of wit.
Comic Wayne Knight, for example, who plays disgruntled postman
Newman on "Seinfeld," admitted that Larry Gelbart and his
contemporaries have created quite a tough standard to live up
to.
"Larry Gelbart brought thought back to comedy," Knight says. "He
kind of slips it in. You’re laughing and you’re thinking at the
same time. When you think about it, from theater like ‘A Funny
Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ to movies like
‘Mastergate,’ he has created hit after hit. He’s set a very high
watermark for anyone else to follow afterwards."
Just how this writer has churned out Tony award winning plays
like "Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "City
of Angels," Academy Award nominated screenplays like "Tootsie" and
"Oh, God!" and Emmy Award winning television scripts like
"M*A*S*H," "Very Important People" and "Barbarians at the Gate," is
a mystery. Even Gelbart himself is mystified, but he never sought
out the awards he won.
"If you live long enough, and if you do enough work which other
people find valuable, there’s a chance that they’ll be some
recognition," Gelbart says. "It’s not something I hoped for, or
longed for, or campaigned for."
Actors who have worked with Gelbart in the past have more
concrete reasons for the writer’s tremendous success. It all boils
down to talent.
"Larry has the extraordinary ability to be funny and honest,"
says Mike Farrell, co-star of "M*A*S*H." "I think he touches things
that everybody recognizes as not only funny, but insightful,
clever, witty, meaningful. Everybody can drop their pants, and on
some level that’s considered funny, but Larry is funny in a way
that makes people think."
Farrell, who describes "M*A*S*H" as "a cultural phenomenon" says
that Gelbart is responsible for the success of his career. And he
is not the only one. Actress Helen Shaver feels that she learned
about good writing when Gelbart cast her for the 13 episodes of
television’s "United States."
"’United States’ was about the state of being united in marriage
and Larry had cast Beau Bridges as the husband and he needed a wife
for Beau," Shaver recalls. "He’d seen my performance as a junkie in
a play and he asked me to come and audition for him. He hired me
and I did these 13 half hour episodes with him. Each of those half
hours could have been published as a one act play. It was some of
the most beautiful writing. It was where I learned about
quality."
Not everyone at this event felt indebted to Gelbart for the bulk
of their success. Comic actor and writer Mel Brooks was at the
event simply to support his friend.
"He hasn’t affected my career at all," Brooks says. "I’m here
because I love him. I love him because he’s one of the most gifted
and the most talented comedy writers that ever lived. It seems like
an outrageous statement but it’s true."