Sheldon Keller; wrote for the comedy television show 'Caesar's Hour'; at 85

Writers for Sid Caesar's ''Show of Shows,'' included (front, from left) Gary Belkin, Sheldon Keller, Michael Stewart, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon (back row), Mel Tolkin, and Larry Gelbart. (PBS)

NEW YORK - Sheldon Keller, an Emmy-winning comedy writer whose work included "Caesar's Hour," one of the jewels of 1950s television, died Monday at his home in Valencia, Calif. He was 85.

The cause was complications of Alzheimer's disease, his son, Casey, said.

The sequel to "Your Show of Shows" and also starring Sid Caesar, "Caesar's Hour" ran on NBC from 1954 to 1957; Mr. Keller joined the staff about a year after the program started. His fellow writers there included Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon.

With Hal Goldman and Al Gordon, Keller received an Emmy in 1966 for the variety show "An Evening With Carol Channing," broadcast on CBS. With Gelbart, he wrote the screenplay for "Movie Movie" (1978), a critically acclaimed comic sendup of 1930s Hollywood films.

Sheldon Bernard Keller, who was always called Shelly, was born in Chicago. His parents, immigrants from Poland, had built a successful business in Chicago making and selling corsets.

Attending the University of Illinois, Mr. Keller teamed up with a fraternity brother, Allan Sherman, to put on comic shows.

Sherman, who went on to create the game show "I've Got a Secret," also become known for his albums of Yiddish-inflected song parodies.

World War II interrupted Mr. Keller's studies. Stationed in the Pacific with the Army Signal Corps, he helped entertain the troops with an Army buddy, Carl Reiner.

At war's end, Mr. Keller went dutifully into the family business, but soon realized that a life dealing in corsets was not for him. Borrowing $500, he moved to New York to try his hand at television. (Mr. Keller did, however, oblige his parents and Sherman by appearing as a guest on "I've Got a Secret" in the early 1950s. His secret: He was wearing a girdle.)

Mr. Keller's marriage to Bernice Berkowitz, known as Bitsy, ended in divorce. In addition to their son, Casey of Valencia, he leaves their daughter, Jamie of Berkeley, Calif., and three grandchildren.

His other work included writing specials for Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye, and Channing, as well as episodes of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "M*A*S*H," and other series.

In the late 1980s and afterward, Mr. Keller, with Howard Albrecht and other writers, published newsletters of jokes, among them "Funny Stuff From the Gags Gang." Geared toward radio deejays, the newsletters were also read by toastmasters, politicians, and anyone else who might need a joke at a moment's notice.