Hollywood triple-threat Melville Shavelson, 90, "a self proclaimed writer by choice, producer by necessity and director in self defense," died of natural causes at this home in Studio City on Wednesday. He started his career writing gags for Bob Hope and eventually wrote several of Hope's features including "The Princess and the Pirate," "Where There's Life," "Sorrowful Jones," "The Great Lover," "The Seven Little Foys," and "Beau James." Danny Kaye profited from Shavelson's genius, starring in his scripts for "Wonder Man," "The Kid from Brooklyn," and "The Five Pennies." Shavelson's credits include films and television shows starring Cary Grant, Kirk Douglas, Virginia Mayo, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Doris Day, Milton Berle, Phil Silvers, Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, and Danny Thomas. My personal favorites include his two James Thurber inspired works, the Jack Lemmon feature "The War Between Men and Women" and the ahead-of-its-time, "brilliant, but cancelled" William Windom television show "My World and Welcome to It."
"My world got a lot colder when Mel's fire went out last night. He was one of the most generous people I've ever known. He leaves a big body of work, and I will miss him because I loved him."
- Hal Kanter, Emmy-winning television writer
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