Lou Wallach out at Comedy Central

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on December 9th, 2008

Variety reports that Viacom is laying off some people. Among those headed out the door is Lou Wallach, who was officially known as “senior VP of original programming and development,” we think. Variety just calls him a “programming guru.”

As details about last week’s cuts begin to emerge, it appears that some surprising names — starting with the well-regarded Wallach — were among the casualties.

We watched Wallach operate on a few of the “Just For Pitching” panels up in Montreal. And we spotted him at such high-profile events as the coming out party for Comix up in Manhattan. He was a soft-spoken dude who wielded a lot of power at the cable outlet. He was an executive producer of Comedy Central Presents, the showcase that had enormous potential to change a comic’s life.