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Burt Styler
Burt Styler
Burt Styler
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Burt Malcolm Styler (February 20, 1925 – June 13, 2011) was an American television and film screenwriter and producer. His film credits include Bob Hope comedy Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! and such popular TV series as The Life of Riley, My Favorite Martian, Mayberry R.F.D., Gilligan's Island, McHale's Navy, Chico and The Man, M*A*S*H, The Carol Burnett Show, and Too Close For Comfort. He wrote the teleplay/scripts for four of the popular CBS-TV sitcom series All in the Family, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1972, for writing the episode "Edith's Problem". Styler died of heart failure on June 13, 2011, at the Providence Tarzana Medical Center.[1]

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Burt Styler

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Burt Styler is an American television writer and producer known for his Emmy Award-winning contributions to All in the Family, his long collaboration with Bob Hope, and his extensive work on classic sitcoms and variety shows. Born on February 20, 1925, in New York City, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II, participating in the Normandy invasion after D-Day and beginning his comedy writing career by contributing material to Bob Hope's Armed Forces Network appearances. Following the war, Styler joined Hope's writing staff, supplying jokes and sketches for his radio programs, television specials, and feature films including Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! and Eight on the Lam. Styler transitioned to television in the 1950s and 1960s, initially partnering with Albert E. Lewin on series such as The Life of Riley, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, McHale's Navy, Gilligan's Island, and My Favorite Martian, while also contributing to anthology programs like Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre. After parting ways with Lewin in the mid-1960s, he wrote solo and later collaborated with his wife Adele Styler on episodes of The Brady Bunch, Chico and the Man, Too Close for Comfort, and The Carol Burnett Show, earning multiple Emmy nominations for the latter. His most acclaimed work came in the early 1970s, when he wrote episodes for the groundbreaking sitcom All in the Family, winning a Primetime Emmy in 1972 for "Edith's Problem" and receiving a nomination for another episode co-written with Norman Lear. Around the same time, he contributed to the first season of MASH*. Styler's career spanned more than three decades, encompassing over two dozen television series before his final credited work on The Munsters Today in 1989. He died on June 13, 2011, in Tarzana, California, at the age of 86.

Early life and military service

Early years

Burt Styler was born on February 20, 1925, in New York City. His family moved to New Jersey during his early childhood but returned to New York City around the time he was 13 years old. His mother was an opera singer who attempted to teach him piano. As a teenager, Styler worked at the New York Public Library, where he read every play in the collection from A to Z, developing a deep appreciation for dialogue in dramatic works. He described himself as a lazy prose reader but was particularly drawn to plays for their fast-moving and engaging dialogue. In high school, his English teacher Miss O’Brien gave him a high grade on a comedic book report about Ethan Frome, an early sign of his talent for writing. This budding interest in writing would later lead to opportunities in the military and his professional career.

World War II service

Burt Styler enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and served as an infantryman in Europe after the D-Day invasion, engaging in combat operations in France. Near the end of the war, he responded to a notice in Stars and Stripes seeking writers for the American Forces Network in Paris, where he transitioned to a writing role. There he met his long-time writing partner Albert E. Lewin. Together they co-wrote an hour-long show for the network, including custom lyrics to "Thanks for the Memories" tailored for Bob Hope's visit to Paris, completing the material in a single night. Styler was seriously injured when a French GI ran him over with a car, fracturing his femur, and spent nine months hospitalized as a result. This shift from frontline combat to writing for the Armed Forces Network marked his entry into the comedy profession. His wartime encounter with Bob Hope during the Paris show led to a job offer after the war.

Professional beginnings

Work with Bob Hope

Burt Styler's entry into professional comedy writing followed his brief encounter with Bob Hope in Paris after World War II, where Styler and Albert E. Lewin wrote a special hour-long show for the American Forces Network featuring custom lyrics to "Thanks for the Memories" timed to Hope's visit. After a car accident left him hospitalized for nine months with a fractured femur, Styler was discharged and returned to New York, where he contacted Hope directly. Hope, who did not clearly recall him, invited Styler to submit a monologue, which Styler delivered by slipping it under the door at the Waldorf Towers; Hope soon responded positively and arranged for Styler to join his staff in California with a thirteen-week guarantee. Styler remained with Hope for about two and a half to three years during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Styler primarily contributed monologues and sketches to Hope's radio program, participating in a collaborative process where multiple writers submitted jokes on selected topics for Hope's personal review and selection. He also ghost-wrote a substantial portion of Hope's daily Hearst newspaper column "It Says Here," which ran successfully for approximately five or six years. Before joining Hope, Styler had brief early experience writing for comedian Harvey Stone on the Kate Smith Show, a demanding assignment involving overnight work on monologues. He also sold a dramatic short story to Dime Detective magazine around age 22 and an unproduced movie story titled "The Merry Outlaws," a comedic Robin Hood tale intended to star Charles Coburn and Donald O’Connor, which was canceled due to competitive pressures from Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn.

Film career

Twentieth Century-Fox years

In the early 1950s, Burt Styler and his longtime writing partner Albert E. Lewin—whose collaboration had originated in Paris shortly after World War II—signed a seven-year contract with Twentieth Century-Fox after studio head Darryl F. Zanuck approved one of their submitted scripts. They spent approximately four years at the studio before the company, facing financial difficulties, released many contract personnel, including the duo. While at Fox, they shared a bungalow office on the lot with the acclaimed writer John Collier, whom Styler greatly admired for his intellect, proper English demeanor, and insightful writing advice. Their first credited screenplay for the studio was Call Me Mister (1951), a Technicolor musical comedy directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Fred Kohlmar, starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey. Styler later expressed pride in the script itself, describing it as one of the few he felt satisfied with, though he was disappointed with the finished film. In 1953, Styler and Lewin completed a major rewrite on Down Among the Sheltering Palms, a musical comedy directed by Edmund Goulding and produced by Fred Kohlmar. Styler characterized their contribution as a near-total overhaul of Claude Binyon's original screenplay, accomplished under a tight three-week deadline before production began, though he felt Goulding—a director he respected—was mismatched to the material. While under contract at Fox, the pair also performed uncredited script-doctoring work on several Bob Hope films.

Television career

Collaboration with Albert Lewin

Burt Styler formed a long-term writing partnership with Albert E. Lewin that spanned from the early 1950s until 1966, during which they co-authored numerous television scripts across various genres and series. Their collaboration began with credits on shows such as Life With Luigi (multiple episodes, 1952-1953), Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre, The Life of Riley (including "Riley Hires a Nurse" in 1956), the Ray Milland Show, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (including "Cheap Is Cheap" in 1959 and "Craig's Will" in 1960). They also contributed scripts to Disney's Texas John Slaughter serials. In the 1960s, Styler and Lewin focused on sitcoms, writing many episodes of My Favorite Martian between 1964 and 1966, "Goodbye Island" for Gilligan's Island (1964), and additional episodes for McHale’s Navy, The Flying Nun, and Family Affair. Styler later described some of these assignments, such as Life With Luigi and Gilligan’s Island, as relatively unchallenging or involving "writing down" to meet the demands of lighter comedy formats. Their joint work also included feature films, notably during Styler's years at Twentieth Century-Fox. The partnership ended amicably in 1966.

Solo work and 1970s highlights

Following the conclusion of his long partnership with Albert Lewin in 1966, Burt Styler transitioned to independent writing that increasingly embraced more mature and socially provocative themes in comedy during the 1970s. He achieved particular prominence through his contributions to All in the Family, writing three episodes that confronted adult topics rarely explored in mainstream sitcoms at the time. These included "Judging Books by Covers," which addressed attitudes toward homosexuality, and "Edith's Problem," which dealt sensitively with menopause. He also penned "The Saga of Cousin Oscar." Styler's teleplay for "Edith's Problem" earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 1972. He received an Emmy nomination for another episode co-written with Norman Lear. He further contributed to another acclaimed series by writing two first-season episodes of MASH*: "To Market, to Market" and "Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts." In 1973, Styler created the short-lived sitcom Needles and Pins with his wife Adele Styler and wrote several episodes for the series set in New York's garment district, later attributing its cancellation to what he described as the worst casting in television history. During this era, he also wrote early episodes of The Brady Bunch, including "54-40 and Fight."

Later work with Adele Styler

In the early 1970s, Burt Styler began collaborating with his wife Adele Styler, a former actress and playwright, on television scripts after he invited her to help complete a script for The Brady Bunch following a period when she felt discouraged about her own work. Their partnership produced the episode "Career Fever," which aired on November 17, 1972. The Stylers created the short-lived sitcom Needles and Pins in 1973, writing multiple episodes for the series, which Burt later described as suffering from poor casting decisions despite solid performances from Louis Nye and Norman Fell. Their joint work extended to episodes of Chico and the Man, including "Second Thoughts" in September 1974 and "Ed’s Team" in December 1977. From 1977 to 1978, the Stylers served as staff writers on The Carol Burnett Show, contributing to Emmy-nominated seasons and acting as mentors to younger writers on the staff. In one notable instance, they encouraged newcomers Rick Hawkins and Liz Sage to retain the bold curtain-rod dress element in their "Went with the Wind" parody sketch of Gone with the Wind, affirming that it was not too extreme. The couple continued collaborating on sitcoms including Too Close for Comfort, with joint episodes such as "Up Your Easter Bonnet" and "The Return of Rafkin" in 1981. Burt Styler's final writing credit was for an episode of The Munsters Today in 1989.

Personal life

Awards and nominations

Burt Styler died on June 13, 2011, in Tarzana, California, at the age of 86. The cause of death was heart failure following heart surgery. He was survived by his son Jeff; his wife and longtime writing partner Adele Styler had died in 2002.
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