Emmy-winning writer Gene Perret passes away at 85

Emmywinning writer Gene Perret known for his contribution as a member of the writing staff at The Carol Burnett Show passed away at 85 on Friday due to liver failure at his home in Westlake VillageHis family confirmed the news of his demise to DeadlineAccording to Deadline midway through the 1950s while working as an electrical engineer for General Electric in Philadelphia Perret started writing comedy as a hobby Following several oneliners he contributed to local comedian White he was introduced to Diller by a friend who hired him for her 1968 sitcom The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show and urged Perret to pursue comedy writing as a fulltime career He relocated his family to California in 1969 and a year later he contributed to The Jim Nabors Hour a variety showBefore contributing to episodes of The New Bill Cosby Show The Helen Reddy Show Love American Style All in the Family and Whats Happening Perret wrote for Rowan amp Martins LaughIn in 1971 and 1972In 1973 he started working on the wellliked CBS variety show The Carol Burnett Show and he stayed there until it ended in 1978 During his tenure at Burnett he was nominated for six Emmy Awards and won three in 1974 1975 and 1978Also ReadHead of the Class cocreator Richard Eustis passes away at 86After Burnett he produced and wrote numerous episodes for the popular sitcoms Welcome Back Kotter and Threes Company In 1980 he worked on the illfated The Tim Conway Show with Burnetts Tim ConwayAccording to Deadline Perret is survived by his wife of 64 years Joanne four children six grandchildren seven greatgrandchildren and several nieces and nephewsThe longestrunning professional collaboration for Perret was with comedian Bob Hope with whom he worked on dozens of his TV specials beginning with 1984s Bob Hopes USO Christmas in Beirut Perret spent 28 years on Hopes writing staffAlong with his work on television Perret also penned more than 40 novels several magazine articles and several books on comedy including Comedy Writing Step by Step and The Comedy Writing WorkbookThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever