Koch, Tom, 1925-2015
Dates
- Existence: 1925 - 2015
Biography
Thomas Freeman Koch (pronounced cook) was born in Charleston, Illinois, on May 13, 1925, and spent his youth in Indianapolis, Indiana. Koch earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1946 and a master’s in political science in 1951, both from Northwestern University. At Northwestern, Koch was a member of Theta Xi fraternity and of Deru, the honorary society for senior men, and of Sigma Delta Chi, the professional journalism fraternity. He was a reporter and sports editor for The Daily Northwestern and had a regular column, “What’s Koch-in,’?” as well as an occasional comedic serial, “Pearl’s Father,” in that newspaper. He also wrote for Purple Parrot, the Northwestern campus humor magazine, and edited an issue of The Medillion, the Medill School of Journalism’s alumni magazine. After graduation, Koch took a job as a news writer for CBS in Chicago and then moved to NBC in New York.
While at NBC, Koch worked as a staff writer for Dave Garroway’s popular Monitor weekend radio show. The show featured among its broad array of news, comedy and other entertainment segments, regular guest appearances by the comedic duo Bob (Bob Elliot) and Ray (Ray Goulding). In 1955, Koch was asked by NBC to write spot scripts for the Bob and Ray broadcasts guest appearances. Although it was Koch’s first experience writing comedy, there was an almost instant synergy with Elliot and Goulding’s comedic style. In 1957, Koch moved to California and went on to write over 3000 comedy pieces for the pair over the next thirty-three years, largely without any direct attribution. In addition to his Bob and Ray work, Koch also scripted a revived version of the Fibber McGee and Molly radio program that aired on NBC’s Weekend Monitor program between 1957 and 1959.
In addition to his work for Bob and Ray and Fibber McGee and Molly, Koch wrote for many television shows, including The Lucy Show and All in the Family, and for entertainment personalities such as Ernie Ford, George Gobel, Dick van Dyke, Dinah Shore, Pat Paulsen and Jonathan Winters.
Beyond his work in radio and television, Koch brought his comedic touch to print through contributions to Mad magazine. In all, he contributed about 300 features over a thirty-eight year period beginning in 1957. Perhaps Koch’s best known contribution to Mad was his 1965 article entitled “43-Man Squamish,” which appeared in Mad #95. Written by Koch and illustrated by George Woodbridge, "Squamish" was an apparent parody of serious sports magazines, offering up a richly illustrated set of convoluted and incomprehensible rules for an imaginary sport. Despite the obvious illogic, the article became a sensation on many college campuses, with letters to the editor in subsequent issues of Mad displaying team photos and boasts about team accomplishments, offered in the same sarcastic vein as the original article. In 1983, Koch followed up with an equally unplayable board game article, called “Three Cornered Pitney," which appeared in Mad #241.
Tom Koch passed away at his home in Laguna Woods, California on March 22, 2015, at age 89. He was survived by a son, John, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.