Leonard Stern | Producer and writer, 88

Leonard Stern, 88, a prolific writer-producer-director whose credits include

The Honeymooners

,

Get Smart

, and

McMillan and Wife

, died Tuesday of heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital.

A native of New York, Mr. Stern found early success in TV writing for Jackie Gleason in The Honeymooners as well as the classic 1950s sitcom The Phil Silvers Show and The Steve Allen Show.

In the 1960s, he produced the spy satire Get Smart, and in the 1970s he wrote, directed, and produced McMillan and Wife, the lighthearted crime drama starring Rock Hudson.

Film credits included screenplays for the 1952 version of The Jazz Singer starring Danny Thomas, as well as a pair of Abbott and Costello comedies. Three decades later, he wrote and directed Just You and Me, Kid, starring George Burns and 14-year-old Brooke Shields.

Mr. Stern was also involved in publishing, including the word game Mad Libs, which he cocreated.

During his career he won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Peabody Award.

- AP