Phil / David

David (second from left), Doug Hughes (second from right), and Phil (far right) in Lazebnik’s 1975 Mad About Mintz, presented by the Harvard Premiere Society.

Present-day Phil.

David doing the Harpo gookie face for his bride Nancy at their wedding.

David in 2018.

Phil Lazebnik talks about ancient Greece, Harpo Marx, and the importance of musical comedy with David Goldbloom, the antic star of Mad About Mintz, Phil’s fabled undergraduate musical whose meaning continues to elude them both.

Now living in Denmark, screenwriter Phil Lazebnik is best known for his screenplays for the animated films Pocahontas, Mulan, and Prince of Egypt. He also wrote for television, including episodes of Wings, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Torkelsons, and Almost Home. Most recently, he’s returned to his original love, musical comedy, in 2020 writing the book for a theatrical production of Prince of Egypt in London’s West End.

In this freewheeling episode of PasstheMic75, Phil talks to classmate and fellow wit David Goldbloom (who recently retired from his psychiatry practice in Toronto) about the meaning of olisbos (hint: it’s Greek and it’s naughty), why being able to do Harpo’s gookie funny face is “an absolute must,” and how he was able to coast on his status as prodigy in Ancient Greek during his undergraduate years.