Woody Allen

=== 1955–1959: Comedy writer and television work ===
Allen began writing short jokes when he was 15,<ref name=Kelley /> and the next year began offering them to various [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] writers for sale.{{rp|539}} One of them, [[Abe Burrows]], co-author of ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'', wrote, "Wow! His stuff was dazzling." Burrows wrote Allen letters of introduction to [[Sid Caesar]], [[Phil Silvers]], and [[Peter Lind Hayes]], who immediately sent Allen a check for just the jokes Burrows included as samples.{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=541}}

As a result of the jokes Allen mailed to various writers, he was invited, then age 19, to join the NBC Writer's Development Program in 1955, followed by a job on ''The NBC Comedy Hour'' in Los Angeles. He was later hired as a full-time writer for humorist [[Herb Shriner]], initially earning $25 a week.<ref name="timemag" /> He began writing scripts for ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', ''[[Tonight Starring Steve Allen|The Tonight Show]]'', specials for Sid Caesar post-''[[Caesar's Hour]]'' (1954–1957), and other television shows.{{sfn|Lax|1992 |p=111}} By the time he was working for Caesar, he was earning $1,500 a week. He worked alongside [[Mel Brooks]], [[Carl Reiner]], [[Larry Gelbart]], and [[Neil Simon]]. He also worked with [[Danny Simon]], whom Allen credits for helping form his writing style.<ref name="timemag" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/27/AR2005072702568_pf.html |title=TV Comedy Writer Danny Simon Dies |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |first=Adam |last=Bernstein |access-date=January 17, 2008}}</ref> In 1962 alone, he estimated that he wrote twenty thousand jokes for various comics.{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=533}} Allen also wrote for ''[[Candid Camera]]'' and appeared in several episodes.<ref name="O'Connor">{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=John J. |title='Candid Camera' Marks 40 Years with a Special |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/17/arts/tv-reviews-candid-camera-marks-40-years-with-a-special.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=November 14, 2018 |date=February 17, 1987}}</ref>

He wrote jokes for the [[Buddy Hackett]] sitcom ''[[Stanley (1956 TV series)|Stanley]]'' and ''The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom,'' and in 1958 he co-wrote a few Sid Caesar specials with [[Larry Gelbart]].{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=542}} After writing for many of television's leading comedians and comedy shows, Allen was gaining a reputation as a "genius", composer [[Mary Rodgers]] said. When given an assignment for a show he would leave and come back the next day with "reams of paper", according to producer [[Max Liebman]].{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=542}} Similarly, after he wrote for [[Bob Hope]], Hope called him "half a genius".{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=542}} His daily writing routine could last as long as 15 hours, and he could focus and write anywhere necessary. [[Dick Cavett]] was amazed at Allen's capacity to write: "He can go to a typewriter after breakfast and sit there until the sun sets and his head is pounding, interrupting work only for coffee and a brief walk, and then spend the whole evening working."{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=551}} When Allen wrote for other comedians, they would use eight out of ten of his jokes. When he began performing as a stand-up, he was much more selective, typically using only one out of ten jokes. He estimated that to prepare for a 30-minute show, he spent six months of intensive writing.{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=551}} He enjoyed writing, despite the work: "Nothing makes me happier than to tear open a ream of paper. And I can't wait to fill it! I love to do it."{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=551}}

Allen started writing short stories and cartoon captions for magazines such as ''[[The New Yorker]]''; he was inspired by the tradition of ''New Yorker'' humorists [[S. J. Perelman]], [[George S. Kaufman]], [[Robert Benchley]], and [[Max Shulman]], whose material he modernized.{{sfn|Allen|Luttazzi|2004|p=7|ps= "Daniele Luttazzi's preface to the Italian translation of Allen's trilogy ''Complete Prose''"}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C346426__422878%2C00.html |title=Deconstructing Woody|first=Ty|last=Burr| magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=May 19, 2017 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819085531/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C346426__422878%2C00.html |archive-date=August 19, 2007}}</ref><ref name="appreciate">{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Woody |title=I Appreciate George S. Kaufman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/books/review/24COVERAL.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407202952/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/books/review/24COVERAL.html |archive-date=2005-04-07 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 14, 2018 |date=October 24, 2004}}</ref><ref name="rabbit">{{cite magazine |title=Woody Allen: Rabbit Running |magazine=Time |date=July 7, 1972 |pages=5–6 |quote=I never had a teacher who made the least impression on me. If you ask me who are my heroes, the answer is simple and truthful: George S. Kaufman and the Marx Brothers.}}</ref>{{sfn|Kakutani|1995|p={{page needed|date=January 2022}}}}{{sfn|Galef|2003|pp=146–160{{page range too broad|date=January 2022}}}} His collections of short pieces include ''[[Getting Even (Allen book)|Getting Even]]'', ''[[Without Feathers]]'', ''[[Side Effects (Allen book)|Side Effects]]'', and ''[[Mere Anarchy]]''. His early comic fiction was influenced by the zany, pun-ridden humor of [[S.J. Perelman]]. In 2010 Allen released audio versions of his books in which he read 73 selections entitled, ''The Woody Allen Collection''. He was nominated for a [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]].<ref name="goes digital">{{cite news |last1=Itzkoff |first1=Dave |title=Immortalized by Not Dying: Woody Allen Goes Digital |url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/immortalized-by-not-dying-woody-allen-goes-digital/ |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 14, 2018 |date=July 20, 2010}}</ref>