Several years ago, I found myself sitting next to Larry Gelbart at a dinner at the State Department in Washington, D.C., celebrating the Kennedy Center Honors. Larry was right up there with Neil Simon when it came to writing comedy.

He began as a writer at the age of sixteen, for Danny Thomas’s radio show, after his father, who was Thomas’s barber, showed Thomas some jokes Larry had written. During the 1940s he also wrote for Jack Paar and Bob Hope. In the 1950s he wrote for Sid Caesar on Caesar’s Hour. He worked with writers Mel Tolkin, Michael Stewart, Selma Diamond, Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Woody Allen on two Caesar specials.

Larry was one of the main forces behind the creation of the television series M*A*S*H, writing the pilot then producing, often writing, and occasionally directing the series for its first four seasons. He earned a Peabody Award and an Emmy for M*A*S*H. His movie work included the screenplays for Tootsie and Oh, God! and he received Oscar nominations for both.

There are a lot more of his credits to add, but you get the picture. At the dinner we got into a conversation about the “dumbing down” of America when it came to television.

ME: “I don’t know, but when I watch a comedy show on TV today, I know exactly what’s coming as far as the writing goes. No surprises. No originality. Usually it’s the ‘setup’ first, and then comes the obvious joke, and then you hear that awful laugh track. It’s as if all the shows are alike and repeating themselves.”

LARRY: “I think it’s because most of the writers today grew up watching television. That was their childhood, so they’re writing about life once removed.”

ME: “What do you mean?”

LARRY: “They never played stickball in the street.”