Martin Ragaway (January 29, 1923 – April 20, 1989) was an American comedy writer.

Career

Ragaway's early credits include the

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

radio program in the late 1940s. Along with Leonard Stern, he created the "Sam Shovel" spoofs for the show. This led to screenwriting the Abbott and Costello films ''

Africa Screams ''Africa Screams'' is a 1949 American Adventure film, adventure comedy film directed by Charles Barton (director), Charles Barton and starring Abbott and Costello that parodies the safari#Cinema genre, safari genre. The title is a play on the ti ...

'' (1949, uncredited), ''

Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion ''Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion'' is a black and white 1950 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is set in the French Sahara with the heroes having joined the Frenc ...

'' (1950), and ''

Lost in Alaska ''Lost in Alaska'' is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. Plot The time is the 1890s, and the place is San Francisco. George Ball and Tom Watson are firemen who rescue 'Nugget' Joe McDermott from committing suicide by d ...

'' (1952). Ragaway and Stern also wrote two ''

Ma and Pa Kettle Ma and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late 1940s and 1950s. The hillbilly duo had their hands full with a ramshackle farm and a brood of rambunctious child ...

'' movies, 1950's ''

Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town ''Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town'' is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the second installment of Universal Pictures, Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. Plot A ...

'', for which they penned the story and screenplay, and the story for ''

Ma and Pa Kettle At the Fair ''Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton. It is the fourth installment of Universal-International's ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. Plot Ma and Pa Kettl ...

'' in 1952. They also wrote ''The Milkman'' (1952) for Donald O'Connor. On television, Ragaway shared an Emmy for the 1960–61 season of "The Red Skelton Show", and won Writer's Guild Awards for a 1965 episode of ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' ("My Husband is the Best One"), and the 1968 special, "Alan King's Wonderful World of Aggravation."''Variety''; Apr 26, 1989): 220-222. He also scripted episodes of ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...

'', ''The Jerry Lewis Show,'' ''

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, after ...

'', ''

The Bill Cosby Show ''The Bill Cosby Show'' is an American sitcom television series, that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday night schedule from 1969 until 1971, under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble. There were 52 episodes made in the series. It marked Bill ...

'', ''

Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's thir ...

'', ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually marrie ...

'', ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from Se ...

'', ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

,'' ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...

'', and '' The Facts of Life''. In the late 1970s Ragaway worked on several ''Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts'' and the annual Country Music Association awards shows. Among his last credits was the short-lived ''Billy Crystal Comedy Hour'' (1982).

References

External links

* American male screenwriters Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Emmy Award winners People from Brooklyn 1923 births 1989 deaths Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screen-writer-stub