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."