Carl Gottlieb
Carl Gottlieb is an American screenwriter, actor, comedian, and executive. He is best known for co-writing the screenplay for Jaws and its first two sequels, as well as directing the 1981 film Caveman.
Early life
Gottlieb was born on March 18th, 1938 to a middle class Jewish family in New York City, the son of Elizabeth, a medical administrative assistant, and Sergius M. Gottlieb, an engineer.Gottlieb studied drama at Syracuse University where he befriended character actor Larry Hankin. After graduating, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving as an entertainment specialist in the Special Services division from 1961 to 1963. Following his discharge, he became a member, later in the 1960s, of the San Francisco improvisational comedy troupe The Committee. They made one feature film: A Session with the Committee.
Career
He began writing comedy for TV, contributing to The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for which he won an Emmy Award in 1969, The Music Scene, The [Bob Newhart Show], All in the Family, and The [Odd Couple (1970 TV series)|The Odd Couple]. He also appeared on camera on Ken Berry's Wow Show variety summer television program in 1972. Minor acting roles have included Robert Altman's M*A*S*H and the film Clueless.Gottlieb also cowrote David Crosby's two autobiographies, 1989's Long Time Gone and 2006's Since Then.
''Jaws''
Gottlieb was hired as an actor to appear as Harry Meadows, the editor of the local newspaper, in Jaws. He was hired by his friend, Steven Spielberg, to redraft the script, adding more dimensions to the characters, particularly humor. His redrafts reduced the role of Meadows.He wrote a book, The Jaws Log, about the notoriously difficult production of the film.
He was enlisted under similar circumstances to work on the Jaws 2 screenplay. He co-wrote the screenplays for The Jerk, in which he played Iron Balls McGinty, and Jaws 3-D. Gottlieb contributes to Jaws related activities, such as interviews and attended JawsFest on Martha's Vineyard in June 2005.