The New York Times Obituary for the Inventor of Mad Libs, Mad-Libbed

Leonard B. Stern, an Emmy-winning writer, producer and __________[occupation] for television whose _________[adj.] search for an adjective one day led him and a colleague to create ___________ [invention], the game that asks players to fill in ____________ [pl. noun] with designated __________[pl. noun] to yield comically ________[adj.] stories, died on Tuesday at his home in __________[place]. He was ___________[number].

His death, of ____________[disease or illness], was announced by his publicist, ______________[celebrity].

As a writer, Mr. Stern received two Emmy Awards, in 1957 for “The ____________[celebrity] Show” and in 1967 for “__________[TV show],” on which he also served as ________________[occupation].

Mad Libs has attained wide _____________[adj.] success. Now comprising _______[number] volumes, the series has sold more than 150 million copies, according to its publisher, ____________[proper noun].

A children’s game show based on Mad Libs was broadcast on _____________[TV channel] in the late _____[decade].

Mad Libs was conceived in ____[year], when Mr. Stern was writing a script for _____________[TV show]. As he recounted in interviews afterward, he was casting about for a particular word. His friend ____________[celebrity], a humor writer, happened by.

“I need a(n) ____________[noun],” Mr. Stern said.

Mr. Price obligingly supplied two: “___________[noun]” and “____________[noun].”

Mr. Stern laughed out loud. The word was intended to describe the ___________[body part] of ___________[TV character].

With that, Mad Libs sold like ____________[pl. noun].

Leonard B. Stern, Creator of Mad Libs, Dies at 88 [NY Times]

Jason O. Gilbert is is the head writer and performer for the sketch comedy troupe and writing collective Business Flannel. Follow him on Facebook here. ...read more