Mort Lachman

Producer
Bob Hope Comedy Collection
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The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

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About
About this interview

In his three-hour interview, Mort Lachman (1918-2009) talks about his early years becoming a writer in network radio for Eddie Cantor and Bob Hope. He describes, in detail, his work as a writer and later head writer/director/producer on the Bob Hope television specials. He vividly recalls Bob Hope's topical humor and gift for ad-libbing. He speaks about his work as a writer for several Ralph Edwards series. He also describes his work as a producer and writer on All in the Family (for which he won an Emmy award), Archie Bunker's Place, One Day at a Time, Sanford, Gimme a Break, Kate & Allie, and Bagdad Café. Jeff Abraham conducted the interview on January 26, 2004 in Los Angeles, CA.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"I never wrote early. I never wrote on time. Until it was almost too late, I never wrote anything. Bob Hope once said: 'if Mort Lachman could ever write one day ahead of time, he would own the world.'"

People Talking About ...
Mort Lachman
Highlights
Mort Lachman on becoming a gag writer for Bob Hope's radio show
04:36
Mort Lachman on Bob Hope hosting the The Colgate Comedy Hour and his discomfort with TV cameras
02:29
Mort Lachman on Frank Sinatra appearing on the Bob Hope Specials
05:29
Mort Lachman on working with Bing Crosby on The Bob Hope Chevy Show
04:04
Mort Lachman on working with Redd Foxx on Sanford
06:48
Mort Lachman on writing the pilot for One Day at a Time, and on moving over to All in the Family
06:08
Full Interview

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Chapter 1
On his early life and influences; on going to write gags for Eddie Cantor's radio show; on becoming a gag writer for Bob Hope's radio show
On the experience of writing for Bob Hope's radio show; on Bob Hope changing up the writing staff for his radio show, and on his friendship with Hope

Chapter 2
On being fired by Bob Hope; on Bob Hope hosting the The Colgate Comedy Hour and his discomfort with TV cameras; on doing warmup on Truth or Consequences hosted by Ralph Edwards
On working on This is Your Life; with Roy Rogers as a guest; on Bob Hope's daytime radio show; on writing for the Bob Hope Specials and on learning the technical aspects of television
On working around fame and celebrity, and on Bob Hope's demanding schedule; on working with the writing staff of the Bob Hope Specials ; on playing golf with Bob Hope

Chapter 3
On writing to the guidelines of standards and practices for the Bob Hope Specials and on writing political material for Hope; on keeping files of all the gags he's written; on writing monologues for Bob Hope Specials
On traveling with Bob Hope to various cities, and on adjusting his writing for location; on writing for Bob Hope's USO shows; on becoming a producer of the Bob Hope Specials
On the many guest-stars of the Bob Hope Specials, including Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, and Frank Sinatra

Chapter 4
On Phyllis Diller appearing on the Bob Hope Specials ; on Barbara Eden on the Bob Hope Specials; on traveling to Vietnam with Bob Hope
On various sketches from the Bob Hope Specials; on Bob Hope's ability to ad lib; on leaving the employ of Bob Hope
On writing the pilot for One Day at a Time, and on moving over to All in the Family; on how the writers worked on All in the Family; on Carrol O'Connor as "Archie Bunker" on All in the Family and on O'Connor's relationship with Norman Lear

Chapter 5
On the process of shooting an episode of All in the Family; on classic episodes of All in the Family; on working with the cast and crew of All in the Family, and on losing the characters of "Mike" and "Gloria"
On Carroll O'Connor continuing the character of "Archie Bunker" on Archie Bunker's Place; on the legacy of All in the Family; on working with Redd Foxx on Sanford
On writing Gimme A Break! with Nell Carter; on writing Kate & Allie with Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James; on writing a pilot for Oprah Winfrey

Chapter 6
On writing Bagdad Cafe with Whoopi Goldberg and Jean Stapleton
On various people with whom he's worked in his career
On writing for The Hank McCune Show; on his writing style; on not being humble
Shows

All in the Family

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Mort Lachman on writing the pilot for One Day at a Time, and on moving over to All in the Family
06:08
Mort Lachman on how the writers worked on All in the Family
01:10
Mort Lachman on Norman Lear's relationship with the writing staff of All in the Family
03:07
Mort Lachman on Carrol O'Connor as "Archie Bunker" on All in the Family and on O'Connor's relationship with Norman Lear
03:12
Mort Lachman on the process of shooting an episode of All in the Family
03:01
Mort Lachman on classic episodes of All in the Family
01:35
Mort Lachman on working with the cast and crew of All in the Family, and on losing the characters of "Mike" and "Gloria"
02:53
Mort Lachman on the legacy of All in the Family
01:28

Archie Bunker's Place

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Mort Lachman on Carroll O'Connor continuing the character of "Archie Bunker" on Archie Bunker's Place
03:22

Bagdad Café

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Mort Lachman on writing Bagdad Cafe with Whoopi Goldberg and Jean Stapleton
03:41

Bob Hope Chevy Show, The

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Mort Lachman on working with Bing Crosby on The Bob Hope Chevy Show
04:04

Bob Hope Specials

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Mort Lachman on writing for the Bob Hope Specials and on learning the technical aspects of television
04:10
Mort Lachman on working with the writing staff of the Bob Hope Specials
01:44
Mort Lachman on writing to the guidelines of standards and practices for the Bob Hope Specials and on writing political material for Hope
03:12
Mort Lachman on writing monologues for Bob Hope Specials
02:21
Mort Lachman on becoming a producer of the Bob Hope Specials
04:46
Mort Lachman on working with Jerry Colonna on the Bob Hope Specials
00:40
Mort Lachman on Jack Benny appearing on the Bob Hope Specials
00:53
Mort Lachman on Frank Sinatra appearing on the Bob Hope Specials
05:29
Mort Lachman on Phyllis Diller appearing on the Bob Hope Specials
01:48
Mort Lachman on Barbara Eden on the Bob Hope Specials
00:39
Mort Lachman on various sketches from the Bob Hope Specials
02:46
Mort Lachman on writing the pilot for One Day at a Time, and on moving over to All in the Family
06:08

Colgate Comedy Hour, The

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Mort Lachman on Bob Hope hosting the The Colgate Comedy Hour (airdate: December 24, 1950) and his discomfort with TV cameras
02:29

Gimme A Break!

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Mort Lachman on writing Gimme A Break! with Nell Carter
04:56

Hank McCune Show, The

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Mort Lachman on writing for The Hank McCune Show
01:09

Kate & Allie

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Mort Lachman on writing Kate & Allie with Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James
02:42

Sanford

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Mort Lachman on working with Redd Foxx on Sanford
06:48

This Is Your Life

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Mort Lachman on working on This is Your Life; on Roy Rogers as a guest; on writing a spoof of the series for Bob Hope
02:13

Truth or Consequences

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Mort Lachman on doing warmup on Truth or Consequences hosted by Ralph Edwards
01:53
Topics

Censorship / Standards & Practices

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Mort Lachman on writing for network shows, like the Bob Hope Specials , and the restrictions from the network S&P
03:12

Fame and Celebrity

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Mort Lachman on working around fame and celebrity, and on Bob Hope's demanding schedule

Historic Events and Social Change

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Mort Lachman on writing for Bob Hope's USO shows
02:42
Mort Lachman on traveling to Vietnam with Bob Hope
02:48

Pop Culture

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Mort Lachman on working around fame and celebrity, and on Bob Hope's demanding schedule

Television Industry

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Mort Lachman on writing for network shows, like the Bob Hope Specials , and the restrictions from the network S&P
03:12

Vietnam War

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Mort Lachman on traveling to Vietnam with Bob Hope
02:48

War

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Mort Lachman on writing for Bob Hope's USO shows
02:42
Mort Lachman on traveling to Vietnam with Bob Hope
02:48
Professions

Writers

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Mort Lachman on keeping files of all the gags he's written
01:31
Mort Lachman on his writing style
01:58
Genres

Comedy Series

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Mort Lachman on writing and producing the Bob Hope Specials
29:05
Mort Lachman on writing the pilot for One Day at a Time, and on moving over to All in the Family
13:37
Mort Lachman on writing for All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place
12:19
Mort Lachman on working with Redd Foxx on Sanford
06:48
Mort Lachman on writing Gimme A Break! with Nell Carter
04:56
Mort Lachman on writing Kate & Allie with Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James
02:42
Mort Lachman on writing Bagdad Cafe with Whoopi Goldberg and Jean Stapleton
03:41
Mort Lachman on writing for The Hank McCune Show
01:09

Game Shows

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Mort Lachman on doing warmup on Truth or Consequences hosted by Ralph Edwards
01:53

Music Shows & Variety Shows/Specials

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Mort Lachman on Bob Hope hosting the The Colgate Comedy Hour and his discomfort with TV cameras
02:29
Mort Lachman on writing for the Bob Hope Specials
15:35
Mort Lachman on the Bob Hope Specials
20:38

Talk Shows

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Mort Lachman on working on This is Your Life; with Roy Rogers as a guest and on writing a spoof of the series for Bob Hope
02:12
People

Barbara Eden

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Mort Lachman on Barbara Eden on the Bob Hope Specials
00:39

Bing Crosby

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Mort Lachman on working with Bing Crosby on The Bob Hope Chevy Show
04:04

Bob Hope

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Mort Lachman on becoming a gag writer for Bob Hope's radio show
04:36
Mort Lachman on the experience of writing for Bob Hope's radio show
08:05
Mort Lachman on Bob Hope changing up the writing staff for his radio show, and on his friendship with Hope
03:23
Mort Lachman on Bob Hope hosting the The Colgate Comedy Hour (airdate: December 24, 1950) and his discomfort with TV cameras
02:30
Mort Lachman on being fired by Bob Hope, and on various other jobs he did
04:37
Mort Lachman on working around fame and celebrity, and on Bob Hope's demanding schedule
02:02
Mort Lachman on playing golf with Bob Hope
07:49
Mort Lachman on traveling with Bob Hope to various cities, and on adjusting his writing for location
03:27
Mort Lachman on writing for Bob Hope's USO shows
Mort Lachman on Bob Hope's ability to ad lib
02:45
Mort Lachman on Bob Hope hosting the Academy Awards
02:09
Mort Lachman on leaving the employ of Bob Hope
01:35

Bob Schiller

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Mort Lachman on Bob Schiller
01:04

Bob Weiskopf

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Mort Lachman on Bob Weiskopf
01:04

Carroll O'Connor

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Mort Lachman on Carrol O'Connor as "Archie Bunker" on All in the Family and on O'Connor's relationship with Norman Lear
03:12
Mort Lachman on Carroll O'Connor continuing the character of "Archie Bunker" on Archie Bunker's Place
03:22

Cary Grant

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Mort Lachman on working with Cary Grant
05:24

Eddie Cantor

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Mort Lachman on going to write gags for Eddie Cantor's radio show
05:00

Eva Marie Saint

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Mort Lachman on Eva Marie Saint
00:16

Flip Wilson

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Mort Lachman on Flip Wilson
01:16

Frank Sinatra

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Mort Lachman on Frank Sinatra appearing on the Bob Hope Specials
05:29

Henry Fonda

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Mort Lachman on working with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball in "Yours, Mine, and Ours"
02:13

Jack Benny

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Mort Lachman on Jack Benny appearing on the Bob Hope Specials
00:53

Janis Paige

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Mort Lachman on Janis Paige
00:20

Jayne Mansfield

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Mort Lachman on Jayne Mansfield
00:29

Larry Rhine

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Mort Lachman on Larry Rhine
00:33

Les Brown

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Mort Lachman on working with Les Brown
00:56

Linda Hope

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Mort Lachman on Linda Hope
00:49

Lucille Ball

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Mort Lachman on working with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball in "Yours, Mine, and Ours"
02:13

Mel Shavelson

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Mort Lachman on Mel Shavelson
01:20

Mel Tolkin

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Mort Lachman on Mel Tolkin
00:32

Norman Lear

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Mort Lachman on Norman Lear's relationship with the writing staff of All in the Family
03:07
Mort Lachman on Carrol O'Connor as "Archie Bunker" on All in the Family and on O'Connor's relationship with Norman Lear
03:12

Oprah Winfrey

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Mort Lachman on writing a pilot for Oprah Winfrey
02:30

Phyllis Diller

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Mort Lachman on Phyllis Diller appearing on the Bob Hope Specials
01:48

Ralph Edwards

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Mort Lachman on working on This is Your Life; on Roy Rogers as a guest; on writing a spoof of the series for Bob Hope
02:13

Redd Foxx

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Mort Lachman on working with Redd Foxx on Sanford
06:48

Rosemary Clooney

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Mort Lachman on Rosemary Clooney
00:51

Roy Rogers

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Mort Lachman on working on This is Your Life; on Roy Rogers as a guest; on writing a spoof of the series for Bob Hope
02:13

Sally Struthers

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Mort Lachman on Sally Struthers
00:22

Steve McQueen

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Mort Lachman on Steve McQueen
00:28

Sy Rosen

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Mort Lachman on Sy Rosen
00:57

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