One of the great TV comedy writers, Herb Sargent, died this morning at the age of 81. Mr. Sargent had a long list of credits, some of which are itemized in this obit, but two biggies were That Was the Week That Was and the original Saturday Night Live. When Lorne Michaels assembled his first writing staff, he hired a lot of creative people who'd never written television before…plus one guy who had to show them how it was done. Herb Sargent was that one guy, and he was widely credited with teaching everyone there how to write and sharpen a script.
The last fourteen years, he had served as President of the Writers Guild of America, East. As you may know, WGAe is currently involved in a Tong War with the Writers Guild of America, West. Sargent was at the nexus of that battle and its associated lawsuits, and I'll bet no one has the slightest idea how his passing will impact matters except that, knowing the way WGA squabbles usually go, it'll probably make things worse.