“Mad Libs” Creator Dies at 88, Leaves ____(adj.) Legacy

By Austin Johansen Friday, June 10, 2011

How Leonard B. Stern waged war on writer’s block.

Leonard B. Stern, Manhattan-born creator of everyone’s favorite game of nonsensical modifiers,

descriptions and non-sequiturs, passed away due to heart failure at age 88 in his Beverly Hills home on

Tuesday. More than simply providing hours of entertainment on cross-country road trips, for writers like

myself, Stern challenged the ever-ominous “writer’s block.” He encouraged generations of storytellers

to grasp not for the right word, but rather for ANY word, no matter how random, silly or _______ (adv.)

________ (adj.)

Mark Twain once wrote, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a

large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” His quote wonderfully

exemplifies the frustration behind writer’s block, the writer’s plague that inspired Stern’s word game.

When one writes down the almost right word, it leaves a hollow feeling, knowing that the precisely

“right” word is floating around in your subconsciousness just waiting to find its way to the paper. Some

people get up and leave the room, some will make a snack, and a very select few will thoroughly rip

their words to pieces, usually ending up right where they started: searching for that one word.

Leonard B. Stern found himself with the same affliction in 1953 while writing a script for “The

Honeymooners,” locked in the grips of a particular word’s search. Luckily, a humor writer and friend

named Roger Price ambled by and Stern asked him for an adjective. Price provided him with “naked”

and “clumsy.” While the responses fell nowhere near what Stern was looking for, the randomness of

their placement proved to be hilarious (describing the nose of Ralph Kramden’s boss). The inspiration

for “Mad Libs” was born.

Years later, “Mad Libs” have proven to be timeless and multi-functional. Not only a God-send for

parents on the interstate highway, Stern’s vision for hilarity based on word play inspired an alternative

approach to writer’s block; one that forces you to keep the pen in your hand and write that word. Any

word. Even if it’s not the right word, it could lead to something _________ (adj.), or better than you

previously envisioned.