Saturday, November 14, 2009
A LITTLE SONG, A LITTLE DANCE, A LITTLE SELTZER DOWN YOUR PANTS
With those words the incomparable David Lloyd taught the world a lesson about comedy. He made us laugh — howl hysterically — at a funeral. Many people agree that “Chuckles Bites The Dust” was not only the greatest episode of the Mary Tyler Moore show, but the single best comedic episode on television ever.
David Lloyd died on Tuesday at the age of 75. His career spanned four decades, and while you may not know his name, if you own a television set, you’ve seen and loved his work.
The episode in which Chuckles The Clown, dressed as Peter Peanut, dies when he's shelled by a rogue elephant in a circus parade was just one of the hundreds of brilliant comedies David wrote for such shows as Cheers, Frasier, Rhoda, Phyllis, Taxi, Dear John, Lou Grant, The Bob Newhart Show and Wings.
I met David in 1988 when I was in LA writing for Amen. He worked on our show every Thursday. Based on our shooting schedule Thursday was Day One — the day when a script is at its weakest. David’s job was to run the writers’ room, get the story structure in shape, get the pace moving, and make it funny.
The cast would read the table draft at 10 am and by noon the writers were locked in a room making major changes. Somehow David always got the table draft overhauled and funny by 6 pm.
One day, the script was so unsalvageable that he threw it out completely. He pitched an idea for a completely different story. By 6 pm we had a workable first draft and David left on time.
His obituary appeared in every major news medium around the country but the most personal one I’ve read is a tribute by Ken Levine.
And here are two more links for those of you who would like to read the original Chuckles script or see the entire episode.
David Lloyd was awe-inspiring. He was a gifted storyteller, an outrageously funny comedy writer, and a delightfully charming human being. I admired him more than any other person I’ve ever worked with anywhere. And I am forever grateful for the 22 Thursdays I spent in his presence.
Marshall posted on November 14, 2009 10:16 PMWhat an amazing comedy legacy to leave behind. Wings was my dad's favorite contemporary sitcom, there were times we laughed so hard my mom would come in from another room to see what was going on. How great that you were able to spend some time with him and see all that creativity in action.
Amy posted on November 15, 2009 8:24 AMMarshall I didn't know David had passed. I'm living in a Nanowrimo cave. Thank you for letting me know.
His work always inspired awe in me. I'm sorry he's gone. But the creativity he left us will last and last.