Paul I. Laikin (1927 – May 12, 2012) was an American comedy writer-editor for books, television, recordings, trading cards and magazines, including '' Mad'' and ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

''. Satirist

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his ''Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the r ...

commented, "He was an important figure in the world of whatever that is, that ''Mad'' magazine, post-World War II satire thing." Publisher Jim Warren called him "one of the funniest minds in the world."Roach, David A. and Jon B. Cooke. ''The Warren Companion'', TwoMorrows, 2001.
/ref> Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Laikin graduated in 1944 from James Madison High School. In 1945, he was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and sent to Germany, where he attained the rank of corporal while playing bugle calls for the troops. He was stationed at the former

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

(then a prison for Germans convicted of war crimes).Winslow, Olivia. "Comedy writer Paul Laikin dies at 84". ''Newsday'', May 14, 2012. Returning home in 1947, he studied English at

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 ...

and began writing for leading comedians, including

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

, Jan Murray,

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

and

Alan King Alan King (born Irwin Alan Kniberg; December 26, 1927 – May 9, 2004) was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious a ...

. In 1957, he started writing for ''Mad'' and later contributed to other humor magazines. He replaced

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

as the editor of Jim Warren's ''Wildest Westerns'' magazine. For three years he was the editor of ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

''.

Television

During the 1960s, he was the head writer on several comedy game shows, including ''The Baby Game'', ''

Let's Play Post Office {{No footnotes, date=March 2015 ''Let's Play Post Office'' is an American game show which aired on NBC from September 27, 1965 to July 1, 1966. Don Morrow was the host, with Bill Wendell and Wayne Howell as announcers. Paul Taubman, who had previou ...

'' and ''Reach for the Stars''.

Books

In 1962, Laikin teamed with cartoonist Mort Drucker on the highly successful ''JFK Coloring Book'' (Kanrom Publishers), which sold 2,500,000 copies, and was one of the earliest titles in the short-lived "adult coloring book" publishing fad of the early 1960s. Laikin and Drucker reunited in the 1980s, producing similarly themed coloring books on Ollie North and Ronald Reagan.''Pacific Stars and Stripes'', August 24, 1987. Drucker described Laikin as "kind of quiet... He wasn't a forward kind of person, unless you got to know him," noting that he had "a good sense of humor and good knowledge of politics." Laikin did numerous joke books, including the ''101 Jokes'' paperback series published by Pyramid Books, where Phil Hirsch was vice president from 1955 to 1975.

Pyramid collaborations with Phil Hirsch

* ''101 Hippie Jokes'', 1968 * ''How Sick Can You Get?'', 1970 * ''One Hundred and One Watch Jokes'', 1971 * ''Grab Bag of Humor'', 1974 * ''Vampire Jokes and Cartoons'', 1974 * ''Ghouling Around'', 1975 * ''Athlete's Feat'', 1975 * ''Classic Corny Joke Book'', 1975 * ''Good and Sick'', 1974 * ''Sick of the Crop'', 1975 Laikin also contributed to comedy records (''LBJ in the Catskills'') and

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...

trading cards and stickers. In 1961, Laikin married the former Betty Silon, who died in 1967. Paul Laikin never remarried, raising his two children, Aron and Eden, as a single dad in

West Babylon, New York West Babylon is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 43,213 at the 2010 census. Geography West Babylon is located at (40.713399, -73.357106). West Babylon is bord ...

. He died in 2012 from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma while in hospice care in Melville, survived by his two children, his brother Harvey Laikin and three granddaughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laikin, Paul I. American comedy writers American comics writers American satirists American parodists Mad (magazine) people 1927 births 2012 deaths People from West Babylon, New York