---
name: "Burt Prelutsky"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/burt-prelutsky"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "5 January 1940"
died: "17 December 2021"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 84
updated: "2026-09-16T16:42:45.676893+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Burt Prelutsky

Writer. Born 5 January 1940 in Chicago. Died 17 December 2021.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 5 January 1940, Chicago
- **Died:** 17 December 2021
- **Active:** 1972–1974

## Biography

Burt Prelutsky was an American television writer, newspaper columnist and author. Born Burton Prelutsky on 5 January 1940 in Chicago, he was raised in Los Angeles and graduated from Fairfax High School. He began his career as a film critic for the UCLA Daily Bruin and then for Los Angeles Magazine from 1961 to 1971, also writing a weekly column for the Los Angeles Times magazine West.

In television he wrote for Dragnet in the late 1960s and contributed eight episodes to M*A*S*H between 1975 and 1977. His other credits include McMillan & Wife, The Rockford Files, Newhart, Rhoda, Family Ties, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Silk Stalkings and Diagnosis: Murder. He also wrote several television films, including Hobson's Choice (1983).

Prelutsky won a Writers Guild of America Award for Hobson's Choice and received nominations for an Edgar Allan Poe Award and a Humanitas Prize. He died on 17 December 2021 in North Hills, California.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, mash.fandom.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Rockford Files* (1974), Fi1m 83, Story — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-rockford-files.md)
- *M*A*S*H* (1972), Fi1m 85, Story, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/m-a-s-h-1972.md)

## Also known for

- *Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman* (1993), Writer
- *Diagnosis: Murder* (1993), Writer
- *Newhart* (1982), Writer
- *Silk Stalkings* (1991), Writer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/burt-prelutsky