Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy

Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy
Awarded for	Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Film
Country	United States
Presented by	Writers Guild of America
First award	1949
Final award	1984
Website	http://www.wga.org/

Awarded forOutstanding Writing for a Comedy Film

CountryUnited States

Presented byWriters Guild of America

First award1949

The Writers Guild Award for Best Written Comedy was an award presented from 1949 to 1984 by the Writers Guild of America, after which it was discontinued.

Year	Film	Writer(s)
1948 (1st)^[2]	Sitting Pretty	F. Hugh Herbert
	A Foreign Affair	Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and Richard L. Breen
	Apartment for Peggy	George Seaton
	I Remember Mama	Dewitt Bodeen
	June Bride	Ranald Macdougall
	Miss Tatlock's Millions	Charles Brackett, and Richard L. Breen
	No Minor Vices	Arnold Manoff
	The Mating of Millie	Louella MacFarlane, and St. Clair McKelway
	The Paleface	Edmund L. Hartmann, Frank Tashlin, and Jack Rose
1949 (2nd)^[3]	A Letter to Three Wives	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
	Adam's Rib	Ruth Gordon, and Garson Kanin
	Come to the Stable	Oscar Millard, and Sally Benson
	Every Girl Should Be Married	Stephen Morehouse Avery
	I Was a Male War Bride	Charles Lederer, Leonard Spigel, and Hagar Wilde
	It Happens Every Spring	Valentine Davies

Year	Film	Writer(s)
1950 (3rd)^[4]	All About Eve	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
	Adam's Rib	Ruth Gordon, and Garson Kanin
	Born Yesterday	Albert Mannheimer
	Father of the Bride	Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
	The Jackpot	Phoebe Ephron, and Henry Ephron
1951 (4th)^[5]	Father's Little Dividend	Albert Hackett, and Frances Goodrich
	Angels in the Outfield	Dorothy Kingsley, and George Wells
	People Will Talk	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
	That's My Boy	Cy Howard
	You're in the Navy Now	Richard Murphy
1952 (5th)^[6]	The Quiet Man	Frank Nugent
	Pat and Mike	Ruth Gordon, and Garson Kanin
	Room for One More	Jack Rose, and Melville Shavelson
	The Happy Time	Earl Felton
	The Marrying Kind	Ruth Gordon, and Garson Kanin
1953 (6th)^[7]	Roman Holiday	Ian McLellan Hunter, Dalton Trumbo, and John Dighton
	How to Marry a Millionaire	Nunnally Johnson
	Stalag 17	Billy Wilder, and Edwin Blum
	The Actress	Ruth Gordon
	The Moon Is Blue	F. Hugh Herbert
1954 (7th)^[8]	Sabrina	Billy Wilder, Samuel Taylor, and Ernest Lehman
	It Should Happen to You	Garson Kanin
	Knock on Wood	Melvin Frank, and Norman Panama
	Susan Slept Here	Alex Gottlieb
	The Long, Long Trailer	Albert Hackett, and Frances Goodrich
1955 (8th)^[9]	Mister Roberts	Frank S. Nugent, and Joshua Logan
	Phffft	George Axelrod
	The Seven Year Itch	Billy Wilder, and George Axelroad
	The Tender Trap	Julius J. Epstein
	To Catch a Thief	John Michael Hayes
1956 (9th)^[10]	Around the World in 80 Days	James Poe, John Farrow, and S. J. Perelman
	Bus Stop	George Axelrod
	Full of Life	John Fante
	The Solid Gold Cadillac	Abe Burrows
	The Teahouse of the August Moon	John Patrick
1957 (10th)^[11]	Love in the Afternoon	Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
	Designing Woman	George Wells
	Don't Go Near the Water	Dorothy Kingsley, and George Wells
	Operation Mad Ball	Arthur Carter, Jed Harris, and Blake Edwards
	Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?	Frank Tashlin
1958 (11th)^[12]	Me and the Colonel	S.N. Behrman, and George Froeschel
	Houseboat	Melville Shavelson, and Jack Rose
	Indiscreet	Norman Krasna
	Teacher's Pet	Fay Kanin, and Michael Kanin
	The Reluctant Debutante	William Douglas-Home, and Julius J. Epstein
1959 (12th)^[13]	Some Like It Hot	Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
	A Hole in the Head	Arnold Schulman
	North by Northwest	Ernest Lehman
	Operation Petticoat	Stanley Shapiro, and Maurice Richlin
	Pillow Talk	Stanley Shapiro, and Maurice Richlin

Year	Film	Writer(s)
1960 (13th)^[14]	The Apartment	Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
	North to Alaska	Martin Rackin, John Lee Mahin, and Claude Binyon
	Ocean's 11	Harry Brown, and Charles Lederer
	Please Don't Eat the Daisies	Isobel Lennart
	The Facts of Life	Norman Panama, and Melvin Frank
1961 (14th)^[15]	Breakfast at Tiffany's	George Axelrod
	A Majority of One,	Leonard Spigelgass
	One, Two, Three	Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
	The Absent Minded Professor	Bill Walsh
	The Parent Trap	David Swift
1962 (15th)^[16]	That Touch of Mink	Nate Monaster and Stanley Shapiro
	Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation	Nunnally Johnson
	The Notorious Landlady	Blake Edwards, and Larry Gelbart
	Period of Adjustment	Isobel Lennart
	The Pigeon That Took Rome	Melville Shavelson
1963 (16th)^[17]	Lilies of the Field	James Poe
	Charade	Peter Stone
	Irma la Douce	I.A.L. Diamond, and Billy Wilder
	Love with the Proper Stranger	Arnold Schulman
	The Thrill of It All	Carl Reiner
1964 (17th)^[18]	Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb	Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, and Terry Southern
	Father Goose,	Peter Stone, and Frank Tarloff
	The Pink Panther	Maurice Richlin, and Blake Edwards
	The World of Henry Orient	Nora Johnson, and Nunnally Johnson
	Topkapi	Monja Danischewsky
1965 (18th)^[19]	A Thousand Clowns	Herb Gardner
	Cat Ballou	Walter Newman, and Frank Pierson
	That Darn Cat!	Mildred Gordon, Gordon Gordon, and Bill Walsh
	The Great Race	Arthur A. Ross
	What's New Pussycat	Woody Allen
1966 (19th)^[20]	The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming	William Rose
	How to Steal a Million	Harry Kurnitz
	Our Man Flint	Hal Fimberg, and Ben Starr
	The Fortune Cookie	Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
	You're a Big Boy Now	Francis Ford Coppola
1967 (20th)^[21]	The Graduate	Buck Henry, and Calder Willingham
	Barefoot in the Park	Neil Simon
	Divorce American Style	Norman Lear
	The Flim-Flam Man	William Rose
	A Guide for the Married Man	Frank Tarloff
1968 (21st)^[22]	The Odd Couple	Neil Simon
	Hot Millions	Ira Wallach, and Peter Ustinov
	I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!	Paul Mazursky, and Larry Tucker
	The Producers	Mel Brooks
	Yours, Mine and Ours	Melville Shavelson, and Mort Lachman
1969 (22nd)^[23]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	Goodbye, Columbus ‡	Arnold Schulman
	Cactus Flower	I.A.L. Diamond
	Gaily, Gaily	Abram S. Ginnes
	John and Marty	John Mortimer
	The Reivers	Irving Ravetch, and Harriet Frank Jr.
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ‡	Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker
	If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium	David Shaw
	Popi	Tina Pine, and Lester Pine
	Support Your Local Sheriff	William Bowers
	Take the Money and Run	Woody Allen, and Mickey Rose

Year	Film	Writer(s)
1970 (23rd)^[24]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	*MASH** †	Ring Lardner Jr.
	Lovers and Other Strangers	Renée Taylor, Joseph Bologna, David Zelag Goodman
	The Owl and the Pussycat	Buck Henry
	The Twelve Chairs	Mel Brooks
	Where's Poppa	Robert Klane
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	The Out-of-Towners	Neil Simon
	The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes	Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
	Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronk	Gabriel Walsh
	Start the Revolution Without Me	Fred Freeman, and Lawrence J. Cohen
	The Cheyenne Social Club	James Lee Barrett
1971 (24th)^[25]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	Kotch	John Paxton
	A New Leaf	Elaine May
	Fiddler on the Roof	Joseph Stein
	Little Murders	Jules Feiffer
	The Boy Friend	Ken Russell
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	The Hospital	Paddy Chayefsky
	Bananas	Woody Allen, and Mickey Rose
	Carnal Knowledge	Jules Feiffer
	Made for Each Other	Renée Taylor, and Joseph Bologna
	Taking Off	Miloṡ Forman, Jean-Claude Carrière, John Guare, and Jon Klein
1972 (25th)^[26]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	Cabaret ‡	Jay Presson Allen
	Avanti!	Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
	Butterflies Are Free	Leonard Gershe
	The Heartbreak Kid	Neil Simon
	Travels with My Aunt	Jay Presson Allen, and Hugh Wheeler
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	What's Up, Doc?	Peter Bogdanovich, Buck Henry, David Newman, and Robert Benton
	Get to Know Your Rabbit	Jordan Crittenden
	Hammersmith Is Out	Stanford Whitmore
	Minnie and Moskowitz	John Cassavetes
	The War Between Men and Women	Melville Shavelson, and Danny Arnold
1973 (26th)^[27]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	Paper Moon ‡	Alvin Sargent
	40 Carats	Leonard Gershe
	Godspell	David Greenne, and John-Michael Tebelak
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	A Touch of Class‡	Melvin Frank and Jack Rose
	American Graffiti ‡	George Lucas, Gloria Katz, and Willard Huyck
	Blume in Love	Paul Mazursky
	Sleeper	Woody Allen, and Marshall Brickman
	Slither	W.D. Richter
1974 (27th)^[28]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz ‡	Mordecai Richler, and Lionel Chetwynd
	The Front Page	Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
	Young Frankenstein ‡	Gene Wilder, and Mel Brooks
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Blazing Saddles	Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, and Alan Uger
	California Split	Joseph Walsh
	Claudine	Tina Pine, and Lester Pine
	Phantom of the Paradise	Brian de Palma
	The Sugarland Express	Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins, and Steven Spielberg
1975 (28th)^[29]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	The Sunshine Boys ‡	Neil Simon
	Hester Street	Joan Micklin Silver
	The Prisoner of Second Avenue	Neil Simon
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Shampoo ‡	Robert Towne and Warren Beatty
	Heats of the West	Rob Thompson
	Smile	Jerry Belson
	The Return of the Pink Panther	Frank Waldman, and Blake Edwards
1976 (29th)^[30]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	The Pink Panther Strikes Again	Frank Waldman, and Blake Edwards
	Family Plot	Ernest Lehman
	Stay Hungry	Charles Gaines, and Bob Rafelson
	The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings	Hal Barwood, and Matthew Robbins
	The Ritz	Terrence McNally
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	The Bad News Bears	Bill Lancaster
	Murder by Death	Neil Simon
	Next Stop, Greenwich Village	Paul Mazursky
	Silent Movie	Mel Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy De Luca, and Barry Levinson
	Silver Streak	Colin Higgins
1977 (30th)^[31]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	Oh, God! ‡	Larry Gelbart
	The Spy Who Loved Me	Christopher Wood, and Richard Maibaum
	Semi-Tough	Walter Bernstein
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Annie Hall	Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
	Star Wars	George Lucas
	Slap Shot	Nancy Dowd
	The Goodbye Girl	Neil Simon
1978 (31st)^[32]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	Heaven Can Wait ‡	Elaine May, and Warren Beatty
	California Suite ‡	Neil Simon
	Same Time, Next Year ‡	Bernard Slade
	Superman	Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton
	Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?	Peter Stone
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Movie Movie	Larry Gelbart and Sheldon Keller
	A Wedding	John Considine, Patricia Resnick, Allan F. Nicholls, and Robert Altman
	Animal House	Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, and Chris Miller
	House Calls	Max Shulman, Julius J. Epstein, Alan Mandel, and Charles Shyer
	Once in Paris...	Frank D. Gilroy
1979 (32nd)^[33]	Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium
	Being There	Jerzy Kosinski
	Starting Over	James L. Brooks
	A Little Romance ‡	Allan Burns
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Breaking Away †	Steve Tesich
	10	Blake Edwards
	Manhattan ‡	Woody Allen, and Marshall Brickman

Year	Nominees	Writer(s)
1980 (33rd)^[34]	Best Comedy Adapted from Other Another Medium
	Airplane!	Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker
	Hopscotch	Brian Garfield, and Bryan Forbes
	Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back	Leigh Brackett, and Lawrence Kasdan
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Private Benjamin †	Nancy Meyers, Harvey Miller, and Charles Shyer
	Nine to Five	Colin Higgins, and Patricia Resnick
	Return of the Secaucus	John Sayles
	Stardust Memories	Woody Allen
1981 (34th)^[35]	Best Comedy Adapted from Other Another Medium
	Rich and Famous	Gerald Ayres
	For Your Eyes Only'	Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson
	First Monday in October	Jerome Lawrence, and Robert E. Lee
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Arthur ‡	Steve Gordon
	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, and Philip Kaufman
	S.O.B.	Blake Edwards
	The Four Seasons	Alan Alda
1982 (35th)^[36]	Best Comedy Adapted from Other Another Medium
	Victor Victoria ‡	Blake Edwards
	Fast Times at Ridgemont High	Cameron Crowe
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	Tootsie ‡	Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart, and Murray Schisgal
	Diner	Barry Levinson
	My Favorite Year	Norman Steinberg, and Dennis Palumbo
1983 (36th)^[37]	Best Comedy Adapted from Other Another Medium
	Terms of Endearment †	James L. Brooks
	A Christmas Story	Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, and Bob Clark
	To Be or Not to Be	Thomas Meehan, and Ronny Graham
	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen
	The Big Chill ‡	Lawrence Kasdan, and Barbara Benedek
	Risky Business	Paul Brickman
	Zelig	Woody Allen

Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Comedy

Notes

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

References

External links

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v t e Writers Guild of America Awards
Film Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Screenplay Best Documentary Screenplay
Television/ New Media Awards	Animation Comedy Series Comedy/Variety Talk Series Comedy/Variety Specials Comedy/Variety Sketch Series Daytime Serials Drama Series Episodic Comedy Episodic Drama Limited Series TV & New Media Pictures Short Form New Media New Series Children's Script
Special Awards	Paul Selvin Award Valentine Davies Award Animation Writers Caucus Animation Writing Award Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement Evelyn F. Burkey Award
Former Awards	Musical Western American Scene Drama Comedy Long Form – Adapted Long Form – Original Documentary Script – Current Events Documentary Script – Other Than Current Events
Ceremonies	1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Years are of film release; ceremonies are held the following year