Emmy-winning writer Gene Perret passes away at 85

His family confirmed the news of his demise to Deadline.

According 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 one-liners 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 full-time career. He relocated his family to California in 1969, and a year later, he contributed to The Jim Nabors Hour, a variety show.

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, Perret wrote for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in 1971 and 1972.

In 1973, he started working on the well-liked 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 1978.

After Burnett, he produced and wrote numerous episodes for the popular sitcoms Welcome Back Kotter, and Three's Company. In 1980, he worked on the ill-fated The Tim Conway Show with Burnett's Tim Conway.

According to Deadline, Perret is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joanne, four children, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

The longest-running professional collaboration for Perret was with comedian Bob Hope, with whom he worked on dozens of his TV specials beginning with 1984's Bob Hope's USO Christmas in Beirut. Perret spent 28 years on Hope's writing staff.

Along 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 Workbook. (ANI)