‘M*A*S*H’ writer, producer Larry Gelbart dies – CNN.com

In 1972, Gelbart helped create the Korean War comedy drama “M*A*S*H.” The show went on for another 11 years, although Gelbart only wrote and produced “M*A*S*H” for the first four seasons. “M*A*S*H” won 50 awards, including eight Golden Globes.

“M*A*S*H” was so popular it lasted much longer than the Korean War itself, and was seen as a commentary on American involvement in the Vietnam War. Gelbart also was involved in the short-lived sequel, “After MASH.”

For Gelbart, “M*A*S*H” mixed a bit of comedy with drama, allowing viewers to connect more with the story.

“I said once that the only way before ‘M*A*S*H’ you would get any feeling out of your television set is if you touched it while you were wet,” Gelbart said.

He added: “We gave the audience permission to feel bad. Because America was feeling pretty rotten then, we were at war in Vietnam. And once the war stopped we didn’t start feeling really terrific right away, if we ever will again about that situation.”

M*A*S*H is by far and away my all-time favorite television show.Once, a very long time ago–when the Usenet newsgroups were popular and still in use for stuff other than porn and piracy–Larry went by the handle Elsig on alt.tv.mash. He even answered a question of mine directly.

He was a legend and will be missed.