The Tootsie and M*A*S*H writer dead at age 81.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_en_mo/obit_larry_gelbart
One of the best comedy writers in the history of television (and film, for that matter). From Sid Caesar through Tootsie and beyond, his work was immortal. I didn't know he wrote A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum!
Indeed, one of the greats. He wrote a play that was a spoof of the Iran-Contra hearings, and it was done as a film for Showtime or some other cable channel -- worth seeking out (I can't recall the title). I actually thought he was older than 81!
I saw in one obit I read that he wrote a play in 1997 called Weapons of Mass Distraction, a good 4 years before that phrase became a catchword (and ultimately a boil on the ass of) for the Bush administration.
