obituaries
Obituaries from page 124
HARRY WEISMAN, 79, of Walled
Lake, died June 7, 2012.
He is survived by his beloved wife,
Sally Weisman of Walled Lake; sons
and daughter-in-law, Bruce Weisman,
and Howard and Patricia Weisman;
grandchild, Aaron Weisman; niece
Michele (Michael) Colton; nephew,
David Moss; many other loving fam-
ily members and friends.
Contributions may be made to
the American Heart Association.
Private family services were held.
Arrangements by Dorfman Chapel.
GERRIE ZUCKER,
79, of Novi, died
June 5, 2012.
She is survived
by her husband of
58 years, William
Zucker; son and
daughter-in-law,
Leonard and Nancy
Zucker of West Bloomfield; daughters
and sons-in-law, Karen and Craig
Casman of Okemos, and Debbie and
Robb Lippitt of Bloomfield Hills;
grandchildren, Noah, Eli and Ari
Zucker, Sarah and Ryan Casman,
and Molly and Eryn Lippitt; sisters
and brother-in-law, Lenore and Dr.
Donald Klein of Novi, and Sonia and
Stewart Aron; sisters-in-law, Mitzie
Zucker and Marilyn Zucker.
She was the loving sister of the
late Marvin Bershas; the dear sister-
in-law of the late Jacquie Bershas,
the late Morris Zucker, the late Louis
Zucker, the late Diane Zucker, the late
Harry and the late Leah Zucker, the
late Dr. James Sniderman, the late
Sylvia and the late David Cooperman.
Interment was at Beth El Memorial
Park Cemetery. Contributions may
be made to Susan G. Komen for
the Cure, 5005 LBJ Fwy., Suite 250,
Dallas, TX 75244, www.komen.
org; or a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.
Correction
• Last week's obituary for Allen
Cohen listed his siblings, Marvin
Cohen and Sheila Solomon, as pre-
deceasing him. They are actually
survivors. We apologize for the error.
A corrected obituary appears in this
week's listings.
Comedy Writer Al Gordon
Alan D. Abbey
JTA
A
1 Gordon, who parlayed a chance
wartime meeting
with an entertain-
ment troupe into an Emmy-
winning career as a writer
for Jack Benny, the Smothers
Brothers and many others, died
May 23, 2012, at 89.
As told to the Los Angeles
Times by his son, Neil, Gordon
was in the Army Air Forces on
a small island in the Azores
Al Gordon
during World War II when a
plane carrying an Army entertainment unit
landed there with engine trouble. He kibitzed
with the troupe's writers while waiting for
repairs.
"He had an ability to know what to say and
how to say it," Neil Gordon said. "He kept cor-
recting their jokes and adding jokes." After
the war, a writer remembered him and asked
him to go join them in Hollywood "and write
radio shows."
He shortly teamed with Hal Goldman
and pitched a sketch to Jack Benny about
his "valet" character, Rochester. They joined
Benny's staff in 1950, just as his radio pro-
gram, The Jack Benny Show
moved to TV and stayed for
more than two decades. Gordon
and Goldman shared two Emmy
Awards with fellow Benny writers
during that period.
The New York Times described
Gordon as "a high-strung, fast-
talking gag writer from the Bronx
who never finished high school."
Benny's manager Irving Fein
called Gordon "a quick little fel-
low, a very good one-liner man',' in a 1998
interview.
"Al came up with very good jokes:'
Goldman told the LA Times in 1996, "but I
had better judgment."
He received seven other Emmy nomina-
tions and wrote for The Smothers Brothers
Comedy Hour, The Flip Wilson Show, The
Carol Burnett Show, That's My Mama, Three's
Company and other shows. Li
FOUR GENERATIONS OF HELPING FAMILIES
For 70 years, there's one thing that has never stood in the way of The Ira Kaufman Chapel
working with a family that needs us - money.
During all of the ups and downs of Michigan's history, we have always maintained our
commitment to flexibility on costs. And we always will.
We don't believe in "extras" - we won't charge you for a Shomer, and we won't charge you
for Web streaming. But, we will always be fair, whenever you need us.
THE IRA KAUFMAN CHAPEL
18325 W. Nine Mile Road Southfield, MI 48075
Bringing Together Family, Faith & Community
248.569.0020 • Irakaufmanscom
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126 June i4 . 2 012
Obituaries