Ben Starr
Benjamin Starr (October 18, 1921 – January 19, 2014) was an American television producer, creator, writer and playwright. Biography. Born in Manhattan, New York, to Jewish Russian immigrants, Starr grew up in Brooklyn and worked in his parents' doughnut factory. He attended City College, later graduated from UCLA, and served in World War II. He became a second lieutenant navigator stationed in England and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the military, he began writing comedy for radio stars, such as Al Jolson, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and George Burns. He started his television writing career for the live  program "Climax!". Starr co-created the sitcom "Silver Spoons", helped develop "The Facts of Life", and was a regular screenwriter for the popular series "Mister Ed" and "All in the Family". He also wrote for such comedies as "Chico and the Man", "Maude", "The Andy Griffith Show", "Petticoat Junction" and "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis". He is notably credited for writing "The Brady Bunch" episode "The Personality Kid" in which Peter Brady (Christopher Knight) delivers his Humphrey Bogart impersonation of "pork chops and applesauce". Starr also penned the "Diff'rent Strokes" line "What are you talking about, Willis?", in which  Gary Coleman delivered in his own way and made it a catchphrase. Starr also co-wrote the screenplays for the 1966 James Bond parody "Our Man Flint", the 1966 Western satire "Texas Across the River" and the animated versions of "Treasure Island" (1972) and "Oliver Twist" (1974). He also wrote plays, including Broadway's "The Family Way" in 1965. The 2012 documentary "Lunch" featured Starr, along with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner and other career comedy writers and performers who reflected on the genre and the industry. Starr was married to his wife Gloria Kaplan for 50 years, until her death  in 1999. They had three children. At age 92, Starr died of congestive heart failure in 2014 at his home in Los Angeles.