Obituaries : Woody Kling; Writer for Berle, Gleason, Burnett

Woody Kling, who co-wrote television scripts for Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason and Carol Burnett, died Sunday of lung cancer. He was 62.

Kling, a Los Angeles resident, died at UCLA Medical Center at about 4 a.m. with members of his family by his side, said Mary Kling, his wife of 21 years.

At 19, Kling co-wrote the opening jingle of Milton Berle’s 1940s “Texaco Star Theater” television show (“Oh, we’re the men of Texaco, we work from Maine to Mexico”).

Kling started working as a writer in the 1940s. He collaborated on all the scenes, sketches and jokes on Berle’s show with Buddy Arnold.

“He was really a darling man,” Milton Berle said of Kling. “He was always charming and kind. He was very sharp. I thought he was a brilliant man.”

Berle credits Kling’s work on the Texaco show as “a big help” to his own career. Berle--known as “Mr. Television”--became a national figure as a result of his Tuesday night variety show.

Kling co-wrote and helped produce the Jackie Gleason and Carol Burnett shows. He was nominated for five Emmys. In 1972 and 1973, he won Emmys for scripts he wrote for the Carol Burnett show.

He was a co-executive producer on Norman Lear’s television series “All in the Family.”

Kling’s career spanned more than 40 years. He created and produced the popular “Casper, the Friendly Ghost” and “Beatles” cartoons and also the “Cabbage Patch Kids Christmas Special.”

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Anthony.