The great writer/director/bon vivant wit Hal Kanter died on Sunday at the ripe old age of 92. And it got me to remembering, and I decided to share the thoughts with you.

This year's Oscar producers, Adam Shankman and Bil Mechanic, were so dedicated to the quixotic task of luring in young viewers, that we were given a show full of presenters that appeared to have gone through puberty during the rehearsals.

[This interview originally appeared in print in The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles in the issue dated Feb 26- March 4, 2010. Go to www.JewishJournal.co...

Here's my own brief look at some of the more notable celebrity deaths of 2009. As always, they fall into two categories: "The Good Riddance List" and "The Folks We'll Miss List."

Gelbart, who wrote Tootsie and many of the early episodes of M*A*S*H, spent years rejecting the industry's efforts to manipulate TV-watchers into emitting less-than-sincere laughs.

His genius for writing changed my life because I got to speak his lines -- lines that were so good they'll be with us for a long time; but his immense talent for being good company -- that's a light that's gone out.

Enjoy the work of Larry Gelbart. You will laugh until you hurt. And for those of us who were blessed to have known him, we will hurt until we laugh.

Larry Gelbart was a terrific and generous teacher. I didn't know him well, but he made a tremendous difference in my life. He knew how to do that because he understood writers. And he loved them.

Mostly a writer behind the scenes, Larry had the timing and performance of a great standup. I will miss his writing, but most of all I will miss him. A good guy with a brilliant sense of humor and great human compassion.

He was an amazing writer and probably a better person. There may have been more renowned writers in a single medium, but his versatility was breathtaking.

LOS ANGELES — Larry Gelbart, the award-winning writer whose sly, sardonic wit helped create such hits as Broadway's "A Funny Thing Happened on t...