Gene Perret, who began a decade-long career as a comedy writer, contributing jokes to stand-ups Slappy White and Phyllis Diller before joining the Emmy-winning writing team of The Carol Burnett Showstarted a 28-year stint with Bob Hope and continued to serve as a producer The company of three and Welcome back Kotter, died November 15 of liver failure at his home in Westlake Village, CA. He was 85.
To To the familyPerret began writing comedy as a hobby while working as an electrical engineer for General Electric in Philadelphia in the mid-1950s. After contributing a few one-liners to local comic White, he was introduced by a friend to Diller, who hired him for her 1968 sitcom The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show and encouraged Perret to pursue comedy writing full-time. In 1969 he moved to California with his family and within a year was writing for variety shows The Jim Nabors Hour.
In 1971 and 1972 Perret wrote for Rowan & Martin’s laughter before contributing to episodes of The new Bill Cosby Show, the Helen Reddy Show, love, American style, all in the family and What’s happening.
He joined the popular CBS variety series The Carol Burnett Show in 1973 and stayed until the end of the show in 1978. Nominated for six Emmy Awards during his burnet He won the race in 1974, 1975 and 1978.
To burnethe wrote and produced several episodes for hit sitcoms Welcome back Kotter and The company of threeand in 1980 reunited with burnetts Tim Conway on ephemerality The Tim Conway Show.
Perret’s longest-lasting professional association was with Hope, where he worked on the comedian’s writing team for 28 years and worked on dozens of Hope’s TV specials beginning in 1984 Bob Hope’s USO Christmas in Beirut.
In addition to his television work, Perret has written numerous magazine articles and more than 40 books, including How to write comedy step by step and The Comedy Writing Workbook.
Perret is survived by his 64-year-old wife Joanne, four children, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.