Howard J. Morris, Jenny Lee, co-authors, TV sitcom writers, WOMEN ARE CRAZY, MEN ARE STUPID: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

Howard J. Morris and Jenny Lee didn’t just co-author the new book Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid, they actually live together as a couple.

My experience, many years removed, is that working on a book with my spouse, a gifted editor, wa s that to continue doing so would generate the title, “Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid… Couple is Divorced.”

But I digress.

Morris and Lee have an advantage over most couples who might put themselves in the position of exposing the intricacies of an interpersonal relationship. They’re professional TV comedy writers so zingers and comebacks are all part of a day’s work.

Howard began his career writing for one of my favorite HBO series of all time, “Dream On” and later wrote for “Home Improvement,” “My Wife and Kids,” “According to Jim” and “The Starter Wife.”

Jenny was a writer on one of my wife’s favorite shows, "Samantha Who?" And is the author of three humor collections, including Skinny Bitching.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "As we were writing, I kept thinking, 'This would be a great episode!' Once the book got a really good response, we sold a pilot to ABC. It was the best early Christmas present ever. And now we have to cast people as ourselves." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Hank Rosenfeld, THE WICKED WIT OF THE WEST Irving Brecher biographer:: Mr. Media Radio Interview

BY BOB ANDELMAN

Hank Rosenfeld found the kind of book writing job that guys like me salivate over. He met Irving Brecher, a brilliant and funny writer from the Golden Age of Hollywood comedy, and spent hours recording stories from Irv about everyone from Groucho Marx and the Marx Brothers to Judy Garland and Jackie Gleason.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Irv loved that movie, Meet Me in St. Louis. He had to read the entire script to Judy Garland because L.B. Mayer said, 'She doesn't want to do the picture!' She didn't want to be outshone in the movie by the little girl's part. But Judy used to come over to his house and sing. So he sold every line in the script to her like it was Shakespeare."

“The Wicked Wit of the West,” as Groucho called him, lived a long and productive live, starting out writing one-liners for Milton Berle in the 1930s, two Marx Brothers films, punching up the humor in The Wizard Of Oz, writing and convincing Judy Garland to star in Meet Me in St. Louis, creating the long running radio and TV sitcom, “The Life of Riley,” and writing the original film version of Bye Bye Birdie for Dick Van Dyke and Ann-Margaret.


Lucky for us, Brecher maintained a magnificent memory of the events of his life and spent his last years telling his stories to Hank Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld produced a book that is mostly Brecher’s memoir with some bits of Rosenfeld thrown in.  The Wicked Wit of the West is a terrific read for any fan of comedy, particularly the Marx Brothers/Milton Berle/Jackie Gleason variety. It gets my highest possible recommendation.

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You can LISTEN to this interview with HANK ROSENFELD, author of THE WICKED WIT OF THE WEST, by clicking the BlogTalkRadio.com audio player above!

Copyright 2009 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!