Burton Prelutsky (January 5, 1940 – December 17, 2021) was an American screenwriter, newspaper columnist, and author.

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A graduate of Fairfax High School,^[1] Prelutsky was a film critic for Los Angeles Magazine from 1961 to 1971, writing acerbic reviews that gained him a reputation as "the fastest barb in the west." He also wrote a weekly column for the Los Angeles Times' magazine, West.^[2]

In the late 1960s he wrote several episodes of the Dragnet TV series.^[3]

He wrote eight episodes of the M*A*S*H TV series during seasons four, five, and six, including The Novocaine Mutiny,^[4]: p.190 The General's Practitioner,^[4]: p.198 The Grim Reaper^[4]: p.203 and Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?^[4]: p.186

In 2000 Prelutsky was one of the earliest plaintiffs to sign on to a class action lawsuit brought against television talent agencies, networks and production studios accused of discrimination against older writers. The suit was settled in 2010 for $70 million.^[5]

In 1985 Prelutsky won a Writers Guild of America Award in the original comedy anthology category for the 1983 TV movie Hobson's Choice.^[6] He was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1982 under the category "Best Television Feature or Miniseries" for his work on the 1981 television movie A Small Killing, and in 1976 was nominated for a Humanitas Prize in the category "30 Minute Network or Syndicated Television" for his work on the Quo Vadis 1975 episode of the television program M*A*S*H.^[7]

He received a Christopher Award in 1987 for A Winner Never Quits, a TV movie that was broadcast on CBS in 1986.^[8]

Prelutsky died on December 17, 2021, at the age of 81.^[9]