The Phil Silvers Show

Leonard Stern made a name for himself writing complete sentences for some of the most iconic TV shows in history, including 'The Honeymooners,' 'Get Smart' and 'McMillan and Wife,' but it's when he co-created a game book that purposefully left words out that his name become known to kids and grown-ups alike. The Mad Libs innovator died Tuesday, June 7 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles following a long illness, his daughter-in-law told the LA Times. He was 88.

"A super silly way to fill in the _________!" by Roger Price & Leonard Stern graced the bottom of each Mad Libs, which emerged in 1958. At that point Stern was already a successful writer on 'The Honeymooners,' starring Jackie Gleason.

He began his writing career in film in the early 1950s, but moved on to television. He won an Emmy as part of the writing team for 'The Phil Silvers Show' and another for an episode of 'Get Smart,' in which he acted as executive producer for its entire 1965-1969 run.

Allan Melvin had so many roles on so many TV shows over the years that it's hard to know where to begin, but I guess the most logical spot would be The Brady Bunch, where he played Sam The Butcher, the guy Alice dated. He was also a regular on The Phil Silvers Show, played Archie Bunker's friend Barney on All in the Family, and also played Rob's army buddy on The Dick Van Dyke Show. He appeared on dozens of other shows over the years, from the Andy Griffith Show (he always played a crook - that's him on the right in the pic) and Gomer Pyle, USMC to Kung Fu and The Banana Splits (he was Drooper).

You would probably also recognize his voice in many cartoons, including Magilla Gorilla, The Flintstones, The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, The Smurfs, Spider-Man and Friends, Foofur, Ducktales, Talespin, and others.

He died of cancer in Los Angeles.