# Do you know who Al Jean is? Do you know who Leonard Stern is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395 "2017-11-12T02:48:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/41 "2017-11-13T13:57:22Z")
I’ve never heard of Al Jean, and I thought Leonard Stern was a symphony conductor. FWIW. Of course, I’m old, so maybe you are aiming at a different demographic. Good luck with the book. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/42 "2017-11-13T14:29:54Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I thought Leonard Stern was a symphony conductor. Surely you mean Leonard **Bernstein** , boychik! Oy vey! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/43 "2017-11-13T17:42:56Z")
Never heard of Al Jean. I remembered Leonard Stern’s name, but had to look him up to remember how I knew him. It was from\*\*\* Get Smart.\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/44 "2017-11-13T18:19:21Z")
It’s been so long since I’ve even thought of them, I had a little trouble distinguishing between Sheldon Leonard and Leonard Stern. Both were very accomplished in their fields: > **[Sheldon Leonard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Leonard)** > > Sheldon Leonard Bershad (February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. > Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of middle-class Jewish parents Anna Levit and Frank Bershad. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1929. > **[Leonard B. Stern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_B._Stern)** > > Leonard Bernard Stern (December 23, 1922 – June 7, 2011) was an American screenwriter, film and television producer, director, and one of the creators, with Roger Price, of the word game Mad Libs. > Stern was born in New York City and studied at New York University. Stern was a successful television writer who wrote for such now classic series such as The Honeymooners, The Phil Silvers Show, The Steve Allen Show, Tonight Starring Steve Allen and Get Smart (a program on which he served as executive... In the late '60s, Stern had a production company called Talent Associates that produced a string of sitcoms for CBS (_ **The Good Guys** _, a vehicle for Bob Denver; _ **The Governor and JJ** _; _ **He & She** _; maybe others that’ve slipped my mind). They were mostly very good, but none of them lasted more than a season, unfortunately. I also looked up Nat Hiken (_ **Car 54** _, _ **Sgt Bilko** _) today. I had no idea he’d died of a heart attack at the age of 54. ☹ > **[Nat Hiken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Hiken)** > > Nathan Hiken (June 23, 1914 – December 7, 1968) was an American radio and television writer, producer, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1950s. > Hiken was born on June 23, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Jewish parents. At some point, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin; a 1939 article in a Milwaukee newspaper referred to him as "a well known Milwaukee boy." He worked on the student newspapers at both Washington High School and the University of Wisconsin. After finishing... ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/45 "2017-11-13T18:29:09Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Al Jaffee. He did many, many features for _ **MAD** _, including “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions,” “The Hate Book,” and (later on) “The Love Book.” > > _“Don’t you just hate/love it when [X] happens?”_ He also draws the MAD fold-in on the inside back panel of the cover. He is still active at 95 years old and is MAD’s longest-running contributor. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/46 "2017-11-13T18:37:37Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I didn’t know either of these names, but vaguely thought that _Al Jean_ was one of the cartoonists for Mad Magazine. Looking at Wikipedia, I don’t see anyone of that name or even the same _length_ of name listed for Mad. Can someone think of who I might be mistaking him for? Yes! Me too! ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/47 "2017-11-13T19:21:25Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I would say Stern is way more well known, but some people might confuse him with Leonard Cohen [snip] or Isaac Stern for that matter ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/48 "2017-11-14T02:38:46Z")
I know Wyckliffe Jean and Isaac Stern. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/49 "2017-11-14T04:16:30Z")
Al Jean I know; Leonard Stern I don’t know. I watched a lot of Get Smart as a kid, however. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/50 "2017-11-14T08:42:40Z")
Good luck with the book. Regards, Shodan [/QUOTE] Thanks, Shodan. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/51 "2017-11-14T08:47:45Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Well, you’re half right. Paul was the creator/producer of _ **Petticoat Junction** _, _ **Green Acres** _, and _ **The Beverly Hillbillies** _. He was also a screenwriter for _ **Bedtime Story** _ (1964), which was later remade as _ **Dirty Rotten Scoundrels** _ (1988). > > The actor who played cropduster Steve Elliot on \*\*\*PJ \*\*\* was Mike Minor, the son of producer Don Fedderson (_ **My Three Sons** _). Mike married Betty Jo, the redhead, both on the series and in real life. She (Linda Kaye Henning) was the daughter of Paul. Aaarrrrggggghhh! Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395/52 "2017-11-14T10:23:16Z")
I recognized the name “Al Jean” from The Simpsons. That’s the only thing I know him for: “The guy whose name was in The Simpsons credits for decades”. I couldn’t tell you what he looked like or what else he did, I only recognize his name because I’ve seen it on the screen 500 times at the start of that show. Leonard Stern, no idea who he is. He certainly wasn’t in The Simpsons credits, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-who-al-jean-is-do-you-know-who-leonard-stern-is/801395.md?page=2)