"Still Laugh-In" Tribute Honors Alumnus George Schlatter
Pepperdine Magazine is the feature magazine for Pepperdine University and its growing community of alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends.
Hollywood’s most legendary figures came together at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills,
California, September 25, to pay tribute to award-winning television producer and
Pepperdine alumnus George Schlatter. The event was the first in the Hollywood Visionaries
and Beyond series, a string of lectures, film screenings, and symposia celebrating
the Jewish visionaries who helped create Hollywood.
The tribute, hosted by Larry King, served as a benefit for the creation of the George
Schlatter Comedy Collection at Pepperdine, as well as a workshop program to teach
students the art of improv and comedic writing and performance. Screen stars such
as Kirk Douglas, Lily Tomlin, Shirley MacLaine, and Tim Conway took the stage to share
fond memories and laughs with the entertainment legend.
Developed in collaboration with the Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture and
Pepperdine University Libraries, the Hollywood Visionaries and Beyond series was supported
by the Brenden Mann Foundation founded by Johnny Brenden, the grandson of Hollywood
producer and theatre magnate Ted Mann.
Other events throughout October and November included an exhibition of photography
from the golden age of Hollywood by noted photographer Leigh Wiener, as well as photographs
of renowned Los Angeles movie palaces from the collection of Bruce Corwin. “American
Dreams and the Big Screen: Projections of Jewish Faith, Ethnicity, and Culture Through
the Generations” featured clips from the films Gentleman’s Agreement,The Graduate, andA Serious Man. A screening ofMy Favorite Year with Norman Steinberg explored the theme “Jewish Humor in the TV Writers’ Room.”
The Laemmle families and Universal’s horror films were featured in the panel discussion
“From Draculas to Dybbuks.”