Ben Starr Biography

Fast Facts

• Served with the U․S․ military during World War II
• Attended the City College of New York and graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles
• Started out as a writer for radio shows, where he worked with George Burns, Dean Martin, and Jerry Lewis, among others
• Also wrote for other popular TV series like "Diff'rent Strokes," "All in the Family," and "The Brady Bunch․"
• Best known as the creator of the 1980s TV series "Silver Spoons" and "The Facts of Life․"
• Was also a playwright who had a brief run on Broadway with "The Family Way" in 1965
• Was featured in the Donna Kanter documentary "Lunch" along with Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner which explores a group of comedy writers that have had lunch together every Wednesday for 40 years
• Wrote the famous "Diff'rent Strokes" catchphrase "What are you talking about, Willis?," which Gary Coleman later put his own spin on
• Wrote the James Bond spoof film "Our Man Flint" in 1966