Mel Tolkin

TV Writer

1913 – 2007

59

Who was Mel Tolkin?

Mel Tolkin, né Shmuel Tolchinsky, was a television comedy writer best known as head writer of the seminal, live TV sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows during the Golden Age of Television. There he presided over a storied staff that at times included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Danny Simon, and Larry Gelbart. The writers' room inspired the film My Favorite Year, produced by Brooks, and the Broadway play Laughter on the 23rd Floor, written by Neil Simon.

Tolkin, who won an Emmy Award and every other major prize for television writing, was the father of screenwriter-novelist Michael Tolkin and TV writer-director Stephen Tolkin.

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Born
Aug 3, 1913
Odessa
Also known as
  • Shmuel Tolchinsky
  • Samuel Tolchinsky
Siblings
Spouses
Children
Ethnicity
  • Jewish people
Nationality
  • Ukraine
Profession
Died
Nov 26, 2007
Century City

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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"Mel Tolkin." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/mel_tolkin>.

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