Barry Blitzer (1929-2010)

Prolific sitcom writer Barry Blitzer passed away last week (January 27th) at the age of 80. According to Variety, Blitzer joined the Writers Guild of America, West in 1961 but was writing for television as early as 1955. He was the last surviving member of a group of nine writers who shared a 1956 Emmy Award for Best Comedy Writing. Both Variety and the Internet Movie Database state that they won for an episode titled “You’ll Never Get Rich” but there doesn’t appear to have been an episode with that title, suggesting that the award (and others that year) were for the series as a whole. Blitzer also wrote multiple episodes of McHale’s Navy, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Jetsons and The Flintstones, plus one or two episodes of quite a few shows, such as Barefoot in the Park, I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster, Broadside, Get Smart, Land of the Lost. During the 1980s he worked on a variety of animated programs, including The Flintstone Kids, Laverne & Shirley in the Army and The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang.

The Variety obituary appears to be the only one available online.

(Via Sitcoms Online Message Boards.)


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2 Replies to “Barry Blitzer (1929-2010)”

  1. “YOU”LL NEVER GET RICH” was the original title of “THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW” during its first two months on the air (it later continued as its subtitle); Nat Hiken and his “platoon” of writers [including Blitzer] earned their Emmy for “Best Comedy Writing” for the show’s first season. Naturally, fellow writer Aaron Ruben remembered Barry to include him as one of “GOMER PYLE”‘s writers in the ’60s, as Leonard Stern did when he gave him an assigment or two for his “I’M DICKENS- HE’S FENSTER” and “GET SMART” series. And Hanna-Barbera were always happy to accept scripts from him over the years (see how valuable it is to have FRIENDS in the business??). Among the original episodes of “THE FLINTSTONES” that Blitzer wrote was 1965’s “Superstone”…

  2. Barry was a great writer and person. He gave millions of people millions of laughs. Thanks Barry.

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