Frank Jacobs

Franklin Jacobs (May 30, 1929 – April 5, 2021) was an American author of satires, known primarily for his work in ''Mad'', to which he contributed from 1957 to 2014. Jacobs wrote a wide variety of lampoons and spoof, but was best known as a versifier who contributed parodies of famous song lyrics and poems. In 2009, Jacobs described himself as "the least-known writer of hysterical light verse in the United States."

In 2021, musical parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic told the ''Washington Post'', “I absolutely devoured every issue [of ''Mad''], and Frank Jacobs was a big reason for that obsession. I can’t swear that Frank’s work was my first-ever exposure to the art form of parody, but it was definitely the first time I had seen the craft approached with that much skill, wit and attention to detail. Frank laid out the template for me — he irrevocably changed my DNA.”

Jacobs appeared in the sixth chapter of PBS' comedy documentary, ''Make 'em Laugh: The Funny Business of America'' singing "Blue Cross", his own 1961 parody of Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies". That lyric was one of 25 that were the subject of ''Berlin v. E.C. Publications, Inc.,'' a precedent-setting case that was appealed to the Supreme Court and helped to define the boundaries of parody in American law. Provided by Wikipedia