- Was one of Bob Hope's writers on Hope's USO tours of US military installations around the world.
- Began writing comedy scripts at the age of sixteen.
- He has won over a dozen different awards including three Emmys, three Tonys and the 1981 Laurel Award for outstanding career achievement in television writing from the Writer's Guild of America.
- His father was a barber.
- Although frequently credited as a writer on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows (1950), Gelbart actually joined Caesar after the series ended, and worked on Caesar's Hour (1954), which was a show much like "Your Show of Shows"
- Profiled in "The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age" by Jordan Young (BearManor Media).
- "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 (1999 season) for Outstanding Musical Production.
- Has won three Tony Awards: two in 1963 in collaboration with Burt Shevelove, as Best Author (Musical) and for their book as part of a Best Musical win for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum;" and in 1990, on his own, as Best Book (Musical) for "City of Angels."
- Stepgrandfather of Sasha Gelbart.
- Stepfather of Cathy Gelbart.
- Author, writer and composer who was co-librettist for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". He joined ASCAP in 1957, and his popular-song compositions include "Wallflower" and "Let's Go Steady".
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content