Bob Weiskopf
Bob Weißkopf | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Weiskopf March 13, 1914 Los Angeles, California , United States |
| Occupation(s) | Television writer, producer |
| Years active | 1942–86 |
| Spouse(s) | Eileen Ito (1940–2001; his death) |
| Children | 2 sons |
Bob Weiskopf (March 13, 1914 – February 20, 2001) was an American
Life and career
Weiskopf, born in
Weiskopf first tried comedy writing at the suggestion of friends Norman Panama and Melvin Frank. Panama and Frank lured him to Hollywood in 1940, where he managed to sell some jokes to Bob Hope for his radio program. From there, he later wrote for radio, for Eddie Cantor's The Eddie Cantor Show, and Rudy Vallée for his Rudy Vallee's Sealtest Program,[2] he would in later years, write comedy material for Fred Allen, Danny Thomas, Red Skelton, Phyllis Diller and Carol Burnett.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, he sent his new bride, the former Eileen Ito, east to avoid the internment camps, and moved in with fellow Rudy Vallee writer Jess Oppenheimer (who 13 years later would hire his former roommate to write for I Love Lucy). Weiskopf and his wife Eileen were reunited a few months later when he moved to New York City, where he was hired to write radio comedy for the comedian-actor Fred Allen. When Weiskopf received a draft notice ordering him to report on June 1, 1942, he requested a two-week delay so that he could finish writing the last two Fred Allen shows of the season. The Draft Board summarily rejected his request, explaining, "Everybody knows Fred Allen writes his own material."[3][4]
Creative partnership with Bob Schiller
The creative partnership and friendship with
Further success continued into the 1960s and 1970s with such series as The Lucy Show, The Red Skelton Show, The Good Guys (where they were also co-producers), The Phyllis Diller Show, The Carol Burnett Show, The Flip Wilson Show, Maude (which they also co-produced), All in the Family, and its spinoff series, Archie Bunker's Place. During their long collaboration, The writing team of Schiller and Weiskopf were honored with two Emmy Awards, a pair of Peabody Awards, a Golden Globe, and the Writers’ Guild of America's Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Achievement.[3][4] His son Kim Weiskopf was also a television writer. His other son, Walt, was not.
Death
Weiskopf died in Los Angeles on February 20, 2001; he was survived by his wife, sons Kim and Walt and their grandchildren. His son Kim Weiskopf, who followed his father into the world of television comedy writing, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 62 at his home in Encino, California.[5][2]
References
- ^ Emmys.com
- ^ a b "Robert Weiskopf, 86, TV Comedy Writer". New York Times (.com). February 24, 2001. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- ^ a b "LUCYlibrary Profile: Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf: "I Love Lucy" Writers". LucyLibrary.com article. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ a b "I LOVE LUCY Writer Bob Weiskopf Dies at 86". The Lucy News (.com) article. February 20, 2001. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
- ^ Obituaries: Kim Weiskopf, published by the Los Angeles Times for Narkive.com, April 25, 2009, accessed July 7, 2013.