Coleman Jacoby (April 16, 1915 October 20, 2010) was an American
comedy writer
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium.
Origins
Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
for radio and television.
Early life
Born Coleman Jacobs in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, his mother died when he was young and his father abandoned the family. Because of this, he was raised at the Jewish Home for Babies and Children from age 7.
Career
After studying art, he moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, where he worked in a parking lot, was a doorman at a cafe
and painted murals for nightclubs. He also started writing jokes for comedians. Joke writing for
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
and
Fred Allen
John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist topically-pointed radio program '' The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forw ...
paved the way for steady work in radio. He changed his name to Jacoby on the recommendation of columnist
Earl Wilson.
He wrote for
Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950–1954) ...
and
Imogene Coca
Imogene Coca (born Emogeane Coca; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows''. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and pursu ...
on ''
Your Show of Shows
''Your Show of Shows'' is a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United States on NBC from February 25, 1950, through June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. Other featured performers were Carl Reiner, Ho ...
''. Later, after teaming up with his longtime partner
Arnie Rosen, he wrote extensively for
Jackie Gleason
Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...
and
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best kn ...
. The team also wrote for
Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly 60 years. He achieved major popularity w ...
's character Sergeant Ernie Bilko for ''You'll Never Get Rich'' (later renamed ''
The Phil Silvers Show
''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on the CBS Television Network from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes wer ...
'').
Personal life
Jacoby was married twice, first to Violetta Velero
in 1940, from whom he divorced, and later to Gaby Monet, who predeceased him. He had one daughter.
He died of
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
in
East Meadow, New York.
See also
*
Lists of American writers
The Lists of American writers include:
United States By ethnicity
*List of African-American writers
* List of Asian-American writers
* List of Cuban-American writers
* List of Egyptian-American writers
* List of Italian-American women writers
...
*
List of Long Islanders
*
List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area
This article contains a list of notable people who were born or lived a significant amount of time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the second-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia.
Artists Actresses
...
References
External links
*
1915 births
2010 deaths
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
American comedy writers
American radio writers
American television writers
American male television writers
Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state)
Primetime Emmy Award winners
People from East Meadow, New York
Writers from Pittsburgh
20th-century American male writers
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Screenwriters from Pennsylvania
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