Seaman Jacobs

Born February 25, 1912, Seaman Jacobs was a comedy writer known for providing top-notch material to such legends as Bob Hope and George Burns. In addition to getting his start on the 1949-1950 variety program "The Ed Wynn Show" and later writing skits in a similar position on "The Red Skelton Hour," Jacobs developed a specialty penning episodes for such popular close-knit-family sitcoms of the '50s and '60s as "Family Affair," "My Three Sons," "Bachelor Father," and "The Andy Griffith Show." He also made a name for himself on such celebrated comedies as the Civil-War-era "F Troop" and the classic fantasy farce "I Dream of Jeannie." After working with Lucille Ball on "Here's Lucy" and "The Lucy Show," Jacobs helped usher in the next stage of feminist progress with the outspoken 1970s sitcom "Maude." The scribe returned to the variety-show milieu with "The George Burns One-Man Show," which garnered him an Emmy nomination and a feature-film gig on Burns's "Oh, God! Book II." Throughout the '80s, Jacobs frequently worked on various specials with Hope while continuing to deliver scripts for sitcoms such as "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Love Boat." The writer retired in 1991 and died nearly two decades later at the age of 96.