What came of the young man from South Philly who studied electrical engineering? He became a 3-time Emmy-winning comedy writer.  What wires came loose?

Well, there was no big change of heart, no single life-changing event. Gene Perret just grew up with what he said was a funny family.

“It always seemed to be there,” he said. “My father was funny and I loved Abbott and Costello as a kid and Red Skelton and Bob Hope. I always wanted to be ‘that’.”

Then he saw the comedy duo Martin and Lewis.

“I said, ‘This is the best thing in the world,’” Gene recalled.

It was by chance that he ended up writing for show biz.  He had been working at General Electric and was asked to write a colleague’s retirement speech. It was a hit, so he was asked to write someone else’s. Soon he was the go-to guy.

“I was the Bob Hope of GE,” he said.

Then it so happened that a group of comedians came through town and heard of his work. One enlisted him to write some material, and through a sequence of events, Gene started writing for comedian Slappy White. Then he was put in touch with comedienne Phyllis Diller. He began writing material for her remotely, she on the west coast and he in Philadelphia. His comedy shaped “The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show,” and a year later he made the move to California to write for “The Jim Nabors Hour.”  His idol, Bob Hope, contacted him around the same time, asking for material. Gene became Hope’s writer, and was fortunate enough to travel the world with him during the comedian’s military tours to Saudi Arabia, Moscow, Berlin, and the Persian Gulf.  The two became close friends.

Gene’s talent landed him a freelance position writing for Reader’s Digest, a job that required travel around the country. He started giving luncheon talks and keynote addresses at writers’ conferences, while in the meantime having his work published in Guideposts, Ladies’ Home Journal, and McCall’s. He also began writing a monthly column in the Digest.

Other credits include work as a writer and/or producer for “The New Bill Cosby Show,” “Laugh-In,” “Three’s Company,” and “Welcome Back, Kotter.” He was awarded three Emmys for “The Carol Burnett Show,” and nominated for four additional Emmys and a Writer’s Guild award.

“You get into things that are really in your soul,” Gene said. “You learn what you have to learn in class but what you do on your own is what you really enjoy and love, and that’s what I did. I loved show business and it worked.”

How, after such an illustrious career, has Gene become an instructor at Adult Ed?  His teaching career really began in 1982, when he started Round Table, a newsletter that, according to the letter’s website, “encourages, educates, and inspires comedy writers and performers.” Gene expanded Round Table to include e-mail courses and critiquing services. It was recently that he himself found the need for feedback and thought teaching might be a good way to get it. He has now taught three semesters of Adult Ed, having just wrapped a course entitled “Starting and Finishing That Book.”

And he would know something about that, as the author of nearly 40 texts, including the foremost comedy book, Comedy Writing Step By Step. Even an accomplished author can run into roadblocks, though.  Gene was in the process of writing a book about finishing books…and couldn’t finish.

“My friend said, ‘Maybe you should have read the book before you wrote it,” Gene said.

The Adult Ed course consists of 8 sessions, during which Gene talks about motivation, chipping away at your work, overcoming obstacles, and creating and sticking to a writing schedule.

“A lot of people have a book in them but they don’t really get it done,” Gene said. “Either they start and don’t finish or never really get started.”

Students have valued Gene’s class so much so that they have continued meeting as a group although their formal class is over. That has been rewarding knowledge for Gene.

“If I can get some of these people to finally get what’s fulfilling, that feels good,” he said.

Gene and his wife Joanne recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  They have four adult children—Joe, Terry, Carole, and Linda. In his spare time, Gene plays guitar, golfs, reads, and paints. Last year, he became interested in sculpting and made a bust of Bob Hope. He liked it and had it cast in bronze. Then he made one of Phyllis Diller and presented it to her for her 90th birthday. She keeps it displayed in her living room.

As for writing comedy, Gene says the successful writer is the one who disappears behind the comedian.

“The better you do your work, the less people know you’re doing anything,” he said.

Visit www.writingcomedy.com for more information about Gene Perret.

Interview & article by E. Kane