Leonard B. Stern

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Television

In 1953, Jackie Gleason hired Stern to write for his weekly television comedy-variety show. In accepting the job, Stern had to move to New York City, where Gleason was based. When Gleason began production of The Honeymooners, Stern wrote many of the scripts. Stern's relocation may have been a factor in the dissolution of his marriage; Julie Adams was now being groomed by Universal as one of the studio's major personalities, and she may have been reluctant to forsake her screen career and salary. In any event, Stern and his wife divorced in 1953.

Leonard Stern became part of the New York TV-production scene and went on to work for Phil Silvers and Steve Allen. He remained with Allen for five years.

Stern created I'm Dickens, He's Fenster (1962–1963), starring John Astin and Marty Ingels as two trouble-prone carpenters. Some reviews compared the slapstick situations of Dickens and Fenster to those of Laurel and Hardy. Stern said that he received a fan letter from Stan Laurel and that Laurel said that the program "was the only TV show he watched." Laurel and Stern became friendly, and Laurel contributed many of his own visual gags and situations. The series aired on the third-place ABC network and was scheduled opposite the hit shows Route 66 and Sing Along with Mitch. When those programs went into reruns, viewers turned to Dickens and Fenster, and the show's ratings improved. Unfortunately for Stern, by the time the show became a hit, the network had already canceled it. ABC salvaged its mistake by sending the 32 episodes into syndication immediately, and local TV stations continued the show's run.

Stern continued working in television, conceiving many clever but short-lived projects: the game show Supermarket Sweep (1965), Run, Buddy, Run (1966), The Hero (1966–1967) and He & She (1967–1968); the latter earned critical acclaim and an Emmy Award despite a short TV run.

One breakout hit was Get Smart, for which Stern served as writer and executive producer. The zany parody of then-popular secret agent stories was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. Stern created the signature opening door credits for Get Smart.

In the 1970s, Stern produced and directed the TV series McMillan & Wife, which starred Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James. In 1979, he directed and co-wrote Just You and Me, Kid, a comedy feature film starring George Burns and Brooke Shields.

Leonard B. Stern

Leonard B. Stern

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