Norman Steinberg, who co-scripted Mel Brooks’ comedy classic Blazing Saddles with and won an Emmy for Flip Wilson’s 1970s variety show, has died.
He was 83. The WGA East said Steinberg died March 15 but did not provide other details. Steinberg was a disgruntled lawyer met Brooks in the 1960s at a Manhattan coffee shop, where he would run into the future EGOT winner regularly.
After repeatedly telling him that we wanted to be a comedy writer, Brooks relented and told Steinberg to submit a script for his James Bond-spoofing sitcom Get Smart!
The series was canceled, but Brooks told the would-be scribe that this his script was funny — and Steinberg quit his hated job at a law firm.
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