Larry Gelbart , Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

Writer, director and producer Larry Gelbart passed away yesterday. He was 81. His best known work was writing, producing and directing the TV series M*A*S*H during the first four seasons. They were the best seasons of the show. It was witty, funny and had a conscience. You could say that about a lot of his work. He cowrote Tootsie, a comedy about the conflict between art and commerce; men and women. He adapted the brilliant Barbarians at the Gate for TV which depicted the great greed of the eighties. It's almost prescient when you look at the our current economic crisis. Then there was his teleplay for the fascinating and riveting And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself. Here's clip from that film. (Larry Gelbart at IMDB.)