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 1734830 126 June i4 . 2 012 Obituaries