Called his home, "The Famous House That Gags Built".
Nephew of 19th century actress of Judith Berolde, wife of writer Edward Marshall.
He once purchased a lot and arranged to have the house on it torn down so he could put up a new structure. The next day when he drove by, the contractors were busily destroying the house next door.
Days before his death he had signed a new contract with Jack Benny.
Not long after his arrival in Hollywood (1925), he became a writer for Buster Keaton. Later he wrote for RKO's "Hollywood Revue" and Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey's "Assorted Nuts".
His father, Herman Boasberg, was a jewelry store clerk in Buffalo.