Arnold M. Auerbach (23 May 1912, in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

– 19 October 1998, in

) was an American comedy writer, especially for radio, television and newspapers. Auerbach wrote radio and television scripts for Eddie Cantor, Milton Berle,

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

, Frank Sinatra and

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

, among others. In 1946 he co-wrote the play '' Call Me Mister''. In 1956 he shared a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing - Comedy Series for ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...

''. Auerbach contributed humor columns to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', and published a humorously styled novel, "Is That Your Best Offer?" (1971). He published the 1965 memoir ''Funny Men Don't Laugh'' about his collaborations with radio comedians. Auerbach graduated from Columbia College, where he wrote for the

Varsity Show The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University and its oldest performing arts presentation. Founded in 1894 as a fundraiser for the university's fledgling athletic teams, the Varsity Show now draws together the entire Col ...

, in 1932. He also received a master's degree of journalism from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He is named after his grandfather, rabbi

Arnold Ehrlich Arnold Bogumil Ehrlich (15 January 1848 in Volodovka, Brest-Litovsk – November 1919 in New Rochelle, New York) was a scholar of bible and rabbinics whose work spanned the latter part of the 19th and the early 20th century. A formidable sc ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Auerbach served in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Special Services division, writing skits for the musical comedy '' About Face''.Arnold M. Auerbach; Radio, TV Comedy Writer
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. Retrieved August 12, 2021.

References

External links

*
Arnold Auerbach papers, 1936-1957
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

American male screenwriters Primetime Emmy Award winners 1912 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screen-writer-1910s-stub Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni