The authors investigate (and present generalizations of) several generating
functions of the classical Laguerre and related polynomials. One of these
generating functions was recently rederived probabilistically by Lee [P.-A,
Lee, Bull. Inst. Math. Acad. Sinica 25 (1997) 151-154], who made use of th
e theory of a class of probability distributions known as the non-central n
egative binomial distribution. Basic (or q-) extensions of the main series
identities are also considered. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights r
eserved.