Nat Hiken

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Nat Hiken (June 13, 1914 - December 7, 1968) was a pioneering American television writer, producer, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1950s. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Hiken worked on a number of popular TV series during the 1950s and 1960s, including Car 54, Where Are You? and The Phil Silvers Show, a sitcom set on a US Army post in which Silvers played Sergeant Ernie Bilko; the show was also often referred to by this name. Hiken was one of TV's first writer-producers, and he had begun originally in radio by writing for Fred Allen's hit radio show and as the head writer for NBC's Four Star Revue. He moved from radio to TV as a writer for Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater. As a writer for Car 54, Where Are You? and the The Phil Silvers Show, he exhibited a comic flair, and his capacity for spoofing such entities as the U.S. Army, the U.S. government, and cops and their police forces was exceptional. TV historians attest to Hiken's talent to create zany but loveable characters and also to his ability to draw strong comedic performances from such unlikely celebrities as boxer Rocky Graziano on The Martha Raye Show.

As a producer, Hiken also had a wonderful eye for spotting new talent. He is credited with discovering and advancing the TV careers of such future stars as Fred Gwynne (1955), Alan Alda (1958) (both who made their TV debuts on The Phil Silvers Show), and Dick Van Dyke (1958). A television pioneer, Hiken worked with such major figures as Mel Brooks and Woody Allen throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. Hiken won eight Emmy Awards and wrote material for Milton Berle, Bette Davis, Carol Burnett, and Lucille Ball.

Hiken also displayed his musical talent by working with composers George Bassman and Gordon Jenkins on music and theme songs for TV series, and among the songs Hiken himself composed are "Close To Me," "Irving," and "Fugitive From Fifth Avenue." He also wrote the theme song and music for the TV series, Car 54, Where Are You?

Hiken's career, talents, and contributions to the early years of commercial radio and TV are documented in the book King of the Half Hour: Nat Hiken and the Golden Age of TV Comedy by David Everitt published by Syracuse University Press in 2001.

Hiken died in Brentwood, California in 1968 at age 54.