Phil L. Leslie (March 11, 1909 in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

– September 23, 1988) was an American comedy writer. His first career, since he was good at math, was keeping books for a local bank in St. Louis, but he began pursuing a career in writing. In 1938, he and his wife, Helen, took their four children (Ann, Jane, Sue and Phil Jr.), by train, to

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

in the hopes of making it big. His comedy writing skills were soon recognized and he began writing with

Don Quinn Don Quinn (November 18, 1900 – December 30, 1967) was an American comedy writer who started out as a cartoonist based in Chicago. According to sources, Quinn's career as a cartoonist was short-lived but his career as a writer began after he rea ...

on the ''

Fibber McGee and Molly ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' (1935–1959) was a longtime highly popular husband-and-wife team radio comedy program. The situation comedy was a staple of the NBC Red Network from 1936 on, after originating on NBC Blue in 1935. One of the most p ...

'' radio program as co-writer. After Don left the show to pursue other interests, Leslie became the main writer.* Phil Leslie Leslie also was a writer for '' The Charlotte Greenwood Show'' on radio. He graduated from radio to television and wrote episodes of ''

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'', ''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to '' I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distin ...

'', '' Here's Lucy'', '' Dennis the Menace'', ''

Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, ...

'', ''

Mr. Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...

'', ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, afte ...

'', and many others.

Other

Phil, Jr. would follow his father's passion for business and start what would become the largest retail pool supply company in the world, Leslie's Poolmart. Leslie, Sr., died on September 23, 1988, aged 79, one day after his son lost control of the company he built to a venture capitalist group.

References

* 1909 births 1988 deaths American comedy writers American television writers American male television writers Writers from St. Louis Screenwriters from Missouri 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers {{US-screen-writer-stub