Melvin Helitzer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melvin Helitzer | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Author, Professor |
| Genre | Comedy, Sports Publicity |
Melvin Helitzer (October 18, 1924 – April 11, 2009) was a professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, where he taught sports publicity, promotion and public relations in the university's graduate school of recreation and sports sciences.[1][2]
A former Madison Avenue advertising agency president, Helitzer left a Clio-award-winning career in 1980 to teach journalism courses, including "Humor Writing for Fun and Profit," at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. That course became so popular that it boasted a sign-up list a year in advance, and each student had to audition to become one of the few selected for each class. Helitzer has written for newspapers, magazines, and commercials; for the award-winning ABC-TV musical comedy, "The Cowboy & The Tiger"; and for such professional entertainers as Sammy Davis Jr., Art Linkletter, and Shari Lewis. Through his college class he has helped launch the careers of numerous students including one who is now working for an off-Broadway playwright and others who have sold material to many professional comedians and national publications.[3]
