Barry W. Blaustein, 1954 – 2026

Screenwriter Barry W. Blaustein, 71, died of pancreatic cancer on May 12. He started his career working for Mike Douglas; Blaustein befriended Eddie Murphy while writing for Saturday Night Live in the early ‘80s, penning his hilarious Buckwheat, Gumby, Velvet Jones, and Mr. Robinson sketches. With his frequent writing partner David Sheffield, Blaustein wrote the Murphy vehicles Coming to America, Boomerang, and two Nutty Professor films, as well as contributing to four Police Academy films and The Honeymooners. He also wrote the Oscar-nominated 1999 wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat. Blaustein recalled that the purportedly good-natured Mr. Rogers himself “actually came up to the offices one day. He basically said, ‘You’ve had your fun, now stop doing the sketches.’ We were tired of doing them anyway.”