Robert Tischler (June 12, 1946 – July 13, 2024) was an American television writer,

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

and television producer. Tischler engineered the National Lampoon's first comedy album and with

Michael O'Donoghue Michael O'Donoghue (January 5, 1940 – November 8, 1994) was an American writer, actor, editor and comedian. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, and was a major contributor to ''National Lampoon'' maga ...

co-created and produced the National Lampoon Radio Hour. A friend of

John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...

's since the Radio Hour days, Tischler produced four

Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast members of ...

albums, the first of which, '' Briefcase Full of Blues'', reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and went

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

. He later worked on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' as head writer from 1981 to 1985.

Background

Robert Tischler was born in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, in 1946. He was educated at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

and

Franconia College Franconia College was a small experimental liberal arts college in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States. It opened in 1963 in Dow Academy and the site of the Forest Hills Hotel on Agassiz Road, and closed in 1978, after years of declining en ...

but never obtained a degree. Tischler was married to and divorced from Belinda Horowitz; he later married Judith English. He had a son. Tischler died from pancreatic cancer at his home in

Bodega Bay, California Bodega Bay is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 912 at the 2020 census. The town, located along California State Route 1, State Route 1, is on ...

, on July 13, 2024, at the age of 78.

Career

Tischler was making radio spots for movie studios when, after hiring improvisational actor

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born 5 February 1948), known professionally as Christopher Guest, is a British-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. Guest has written, directed, and starred in his series of comedy ...

as voice talent, Guest and Tischler became friends. "Chris got me into show business," Tischler later recalled. When Guest became involved with National Lampoon's 1972 Radio Dinner album, he called on Tischler to help. Tischler co-produced the record with Lampoon magazine writers Tony Hendra and

. In 1981, Tischler joined ''

'' when

Dick Ebersol Duncan Richard Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the ...

took creative control; Tischler served as head writer for four seasons, leaving the show in 1985. During his tenure, he helped reverse the show's declining fortunes after its rocky sixth season. He championed

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

as a cast member, whose emergence as a star was credited as a major factor for the show's newfound successes. Guest,

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...

, and

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian and American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television ...

also joined the show during this time. Tischler produced

David Brenner David Norris Brenner (February 4, 1936 – March 15, 2014) was an American stand-up comedian, actor and author. The most frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' in the 1970s and 1980s, Brenner "was a pioneer of observ ...

's late-night talk show ''

Nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

'' during the 1986-'87 season and had since written for and produced a number of television series, including '' What's Alan Watching?'', ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to June 17, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Richa ...

'', '' Something So Right'' and ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews ( Ben Savage) and his friends and f ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tischler, Bob 1946 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American male writers American comedy writers American male television writers American television writers Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California National Lampoon people Writers from Englewood, New Jersey