Effective period / Period of releases: 1963

Larry Gore (1923-1973) was a Bronx-born comedy writer and public relations man whose clients included stars such as John Wayne, Anita Ekberg, Red Skelton, Tina Louise and Tiny Tim -- he was publicist for the wedding of Tiny Tim to Miss Vicki on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show."

He wrote for MAD Magazine from the 1950s to the early 1970s, and was also MAD's first public relations man. Beginning sometime in the late 1950s he would sometimes get masthead credit as "Propaganda Minister" or being in charge of "Publicity Lies."

Gore would plant fake newspaper column items reporting crazy things like MAD was going to publish a waterproof edition that could be read in the shower, or that its employees were paid in $2 bills. MAD publisher William Gaines perhaps paid him the highest complement possible in a 1960 interview: "I didn't think we needed a press agent, but Feldstein did. What Gore says embarasses me. I can't communicate with him. He's even madder than we are. But I suppose if we've got to have a press agent, we might as well have a Mad one."

It is claimed by some that Larry Gore was the only MAD writer who was kicked off the magazine for being too Mad. He is credited with several famous back covers skewering Richard Nixon, some published posthumously by the magazine.

Larry was also a comedy publisher in his own right. He wrote a truly looney newspaper comic strip called "Larry Gore's Thing" with MAD artist Bob Clarke providing the art. It ran from 1968 to 1972 in Newsday and was syndicated around the country as well for a while.

Oh, yeah...he made some comedy records, too...