Dick Clair

The long-running TV variety series "The Carol Burnett Show" has minted many a stellar Hollywood career. In the case of Dick Clair, the fun began in 1973 when he joined the program as a writer. For his work on 73 episodes, the San Francisco native was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series five years in a row, winning three times. The other funny thing about Clair, though in a different sort of way, is that he was cryogenically frozen after his death in 1988. During his lifetime, Clair was an active early member of the Cryonics Society of California in the 1960's. Clair was lucky in that he found his calling as a writer after only middling success as an actor during that same decade on shows such as "Hollywood Talent Scouts" and "Mary Tyler Moore." Clair eventually wrote for Moore's program as well as "The Bob Newhart Show" before getting his big break with Burnett. Towards the end of his career, Clair contributed to another seminal TV comedy effort, "Soap," writing 11 episodes.