Lucille Kallen

Lucille Kallen (May 28, 1922, Los Angeles, California – January 18, 1999, Ardsley, New York)^[1][2] was an American writer, screenwriter,^[3] playwright,^[4] composer, and lyricist. She was best known for being the only woman in the most famous of all TV writers' rooms, the one that created Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows from 1950 to 1954. In addition, she worked extensively on Broadway, was a long-time writing partner of Mel Tolkin,^[5] and published six novels, including a series of mysteries featuring the character C.B. Greenfield.^[6] The titles of her books are: Outside There, Somewhere!: A Novel (1964),^[7] Introducing C.B. Greenfield (1981),^[8] C.B. Greenfield: The Piano Bird (1984),^[9] C.B. Greenfield: No Lady in the House (1984),^[10] C.B. Greenfield: The Tanglewood Murder (1985),^[11] C.B. Greenfield: A Little Madness (1986),^[12] The books were discussed and reviewed by The Mystery Fancier^[13][14] and one was quoted in English Historical Syntax and Morphology^[15]

Sid Caesar's writer's room has been fictionally recreated many times. Neil Simon, who was one of the writers, memorialized it in his play Laughter on the 23rd Floor; it formed the centrepiece of the 1984 movie My Favorite Year, and, most famously, it was the office in which Rob Petrie worked in The Dick Van Dyke Show. Kallen, composited with the comic actress and writer Selma Diamond, who was the only woman writer on Sid Caesar's follow-up show, Caesar's Hour, was therefore the inspiration for Sally Rogers, played by Rose Marie.^[16][17][18]

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