This note demonstrates that the conditions of Kotlarski’s (1967, Pacific Journal of
Mathematics 20(1), 69–76) lemma can be substantially relaxed. In
particular, the condition that the characteristic functions of
M, U1, and
U2 are nonvanishing can be replaced with much
weaker conditions: The characteristic function of
U1 can be allowed to have real zeros, as long
as the derivative of its characteristic function at those points is not also
zero; that of U2 can have an isolated number of
zeros; and that of M need satisfy no restrictions on its
zeros. We also show that Kotlarski’s lemma holds when the tails of
U1 are no thicker than exponential,
regardless of the zeros of the characteristic functions of
U1, U2, or
M.