Mort Lachman

Born in Seattle, Washington (not, as many believed, in New York City), comedy writer Mort Lachman graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in journalism in the 1930s. After serving in the US Army during World War II, he got a job as a gag writer for comedian Eddie Cantor. In 1947 he went to work for comic Bob Hope as a gag writer for his radio show. He stayed with Hope, on and off, for more than 20 years, as a gag writer and producer of Hope's TV specials. He also wrote and directed episodes for several sitcoms, including Sanford and Son (1972), The Red Skelton Hour (1951) and That's My Mama (1974), and wrote, produced and directed episodes of All in the Family (1971), for which he won an Emmy Award in 1971. He died in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack on March 18, 2009.