[Deathwatch] Edmund Hartmann, screenwriter, 92

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Special thanks to not just one, but TWO faithful readers that sent this
to my attention - Ed.

Screenwriter Edmund Hartmann Dies at 92
Sun Nov 30, 3:35 AM ET

SANTA FE, N.M. - Screenwriter Edmund L. Hartmann, who wrote zany
comedies for Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and the Three Stooges,
died at his home in Santa Fe. He was 92. 

Hartmann, who died Friday, also wrote comedies for Abbott and Costello
and Lucille Ball, and penned film noir mysteries in a career that
spanned more than 60 years.

He once said: "I think the unexpected is the key to comedy," the Santa
Fe New Mexican reported in its Sunday editions. "You can either do it
or you can't. It can't be taught."

His Bob Hope scripts were for "Paleface" (1948), "Sorrowful Jones"
(1949), "Fancy Pants" (1950) and "The Lemon Drop Kid" (1951). He wrote
"The Caddy" in 1953 for Martin and Lewis.

His other titles include Sherlock Holmes thrillers "The Scarlet Claw"
and "Sherlock Holmes in Washington."

As a television writer-producer, Hartmann created "My Three Sons" for
Fred MacMurray, and one of Henry Fonda's rare TV series, "The Smith
Family." He also worked on "A Family Affair" and "The Eve Arden Show."

"He was a gag writer, but he was a good story man. He could work up a
tale that was very involving," said Donald McCaffrey, who wrote a
biography of Hartmann titled "Bound and Gagged in Hollywood."

Hartmann worked at several Hollywood studios but considered his
Paramount years the best.

He moved to Santa Fe in 1988 and was awarded the Golden Chili Award for
Lifetime Achievement in 1999 by the Santa Fe Film Critics Circle.