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Morrie Ryskind

January 01, 1970

Morris "Morrie" Ryskind (October 20, 1895 – August 24, 1985) was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and movies who became a conservative political activist later in life.

Morrie Ryskind
Bottom, left to right: George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, (top) Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin
BornMorris Ryskind
(1895-10-20)October 20, 1895
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 24, 1985(1985-08-24) (aged 89)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
OccupationDramatist, screenwriter, lyricist, newspaper columnist
EducationColumbia University
Years active1929-1972
SpouseMary House (1929–1985)
Children2[1]

Life and career edit

Ryskind was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants Ida (Edelson) and Abraham Ryskind.[2] He attended Columbia University but was suspended shortly before he was due to graduate after he called university president Nicholas Murray Butler "Czar Nicholas" in the pages of the humor magazine Jester in 1917. Ryskind was criticizing Butler for refusing to allow Ilya Tolstoy speak on campus.[3]

From 1927 to 1945, Ryskind was author of numerous scripts and musical lyrics for Broadway productions and Hollywood films, and he later directed several productions. He collaborated with George S. Kaufman on several Broadway hits. In 1933, he earned the Pulitzer Prize for drama for the Broadway production Of Thee I Sing, a musical written in collaboration with composer George Gershwin.[4]

Ryskind wrote or cowrote several Marx Brothers theatrical and screenplays, including the book for the Broadway musical Animal Crackers (1929) (with Kaufman), and he wrote the screenplays for the film versions of The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930).

Later he cowrote, again with Kaufman, the screenplay for A Night at the Opera (1935), which helped revive interest in the Marx Brothers and was selected by the American Film Institute as among the top 100 comedy films. In working on that script, Ryskind was heavily involved in the "cleanup process," watching the brothers repeatedly perform sections of the play before live audiences to determine which lines worked and which did not. In an interview with Richard J. Anobile in The Marx Brothers Scrapbook, Groucho Marx said that he was so appalled by an early draft of the script, which was reportedly written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, that he screamed "Why fuck around with second-rate talent, get Kaufman and Ryskind [to write the screenplay]!"[5]

Ryskind also rewrote the stage version of Room Service (1938), reworking the plot to make the film suitable for the Marx Brothers.[6]

During that period, Ryskind was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his part in writing the films My Man Godfrey (starring Carole Lombard, 1936) and Stage Door (starring Katharine Hepburn, 1937). Later, he wrote the screenplay for the successful Penny Serenade, wrote the stage musical Louisiana Purchase (which soon became a film starring Bob Hope) and supervised the production of The Lady Comes Across.[7]

Political activism edit

For many years, Ryskind had been a member of the Socialist Party of America, and during the 1930s he participated in party-sponsored activities, even performing sketches at antiwar events, but he split with the party's Old Guard faction led by Louis Waldman. His politics soon moved to the political right. In 1940, Ryskind abandoned the Democratic Party, and he opposed President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's pursuit of a third term, writing the campaign song for that year's Republican Party presidential nominee Wendell Willkie.[8] He maintained some ties to the Socialist Party throughout the 1940s and served as a vice chairman of the Keep America Out of War Congress.

He became a friend to writers Max Eastman,[9] Ayn Rand,[10] John Dos Passos,[11] Suzanne La Follette[12] and Raymond Moley.[13] Later, he would become a friend to William F. Buckley, Jr. and future president Ronald Reagan.[14] In 1947, he appeared before the House Committee on Un-American Activities as a "friendly witness." Ryskind never sold another script after that appearance, and he believed that his appearance before HUAC was responsible, although there is no direct evidence of an organized campaign against the "friendly witnesses."[15]

In the 1950s, Ryskind contributed articles to The Freeman,[16] In 1954, he was also a board member of the American Jewish League Against Communism.[17]

He lent money to Buckley to help start The National Review,[18] which began publication in 1955, another journal to which he was an early contributor. Ryskind briefly joined the John Birch Society but soon disassociated himself from the group after it began to claim that Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower were part of the Soviet conspiracy.[19] He was also a vocal sympathizer with the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism.

In 1960, Ryskind started to write a feature column in the Los Angeles Times that promoted conservative ideas for the next 11 years. His son Allan H. Ryskind was the longtime editor of the conservative weekly Human Events.[20]

The elder Ryskind's autobiography I Shot an Elephant in My Pajamas: The Morrie Ryskind Story details his adventures from Broadway to Hollywood as well as his conversion to conservative politics.

Stage productions edit

Filmography edit

Bibliography edit

  • George S. Kaufman et al., Kaufman & Co.: Broadway Comedies, Laurence Maslon, ed. (New York: The Library of America, 2004 ISBN 1-931082-67-7; includes Animal Crackers and Of Thee I Sing)
  • Animal Crackers (1928, with George S. Kaufman, New York: Samuel French's Musical Library, 1984 ISBN 978-0573681370)
  • Of Thee I Sing (1931, with George S. Kaufman and Ira Gershwin, New York: Knopf. 1932; Samuel French's Musical Library, 1963 ISBN 978-0573680373)
  • Let 'Em Eat Cake (1933, with George S. Kaufman and Ira Gershwin, New York: Knopf. 1933)
  • I Shot an Elephant in My Pajamas: the Morrie Ryskind Story (with John H. M. Roberts, Lafayette, LA: Huntington House, 1994 ISBN 1-56384-000-6)
  • Nicholas Miraculous: The Amazing Career of the Redoubtable Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, Michael Rosenthal (Columbia University Press, 2006 ISBN 978-0-231-17421-3)

References edit

  1. ^ Schmalz, Jeffrey (25 August 1985). "Morrie Ryskind Dies at 89; Wrote Plays and Screen Comedies". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "I Shot an Elephant in My Pajamas: The Morrie Ryskind Story by Morrie Ryskind, John H Roberts - Alibris for Libraries} (hereafter, "Ryskind, Pajamas")".
  3. ^ Rosenthal, Michael, Nicholas Miraculous: The Amazing Career of the Redoubtable Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, 2006, Columbia University Press, pp.238-239.
  4. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, p.88, 99.
  5. ^ Marx, Groucho; Anobile, Richard J. (1973). The Marx Bros. scrapbook – Groucho Marx, Richard J. Anobile – Google Boeken. Darien House. ISBN 9780517515464. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
  6. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, pp.101-117.
  7. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, pp.119-141.
  8. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, pp.169-171.
  9. ^ Diggins, John, Up From Communism, Harper & Row, 1975, pp. 201-233; Ryskind, Pajamas, p.184; and, O'Neill, William L., The Last Romantic: a Life of Max Eastman, 1991, Transaction
  10. ^ Burns, Jennifer, Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right, 2009, Oxford Univ. Press, p.131.
  11. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, p.179, 184.
  12. ^ Chamberlain, John, A Life with the Printed Word, Regnery, 1982, p.138.
  13. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, p.189.
  14. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, p.178, pp.206-208.
  15. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, pp.165-166.
  16. ^ Chamberlain, John, A Life With the Printed Word, p.138.
  17. ^ Piper, Michael Collins (2006). The Judas Goats: The Enemy Within. American Free Press. ISBN 9780981808628. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  18. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, pp.183-184.
  19. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, pp.198-199.
  20. ^ Ryskind, Pajamas, pp.186-187.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
morrie, ryskind, morris, morrie, ryskind, october, 1895, august, 1985, american, dramatist, lyricist, writer, theatrical, productions, movies, became, conservative, political, activist, later, life, bottom, left, right, george, kaufman, gershwin, george, gersh. Morris Morrie Ryskind October 20 1895 August 24 1985 was an American dramatist lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and movies who became a conservative political activist later in life Morrie RyskindBottom left to right George S Kaufman Morrie Ryskind top Ira Gershwin George GershwinBornMorris Ryskind 1895 10 20 October 20 1895Brooklyn New York U S DiedAugust 24 1985 1985 08 24 aged 89 Washington D C U S OccupationDramatist screenwriter lyricist newspaper columnistEducationColumbia UniversityYears active1929 1972SpouseMary House 1929 1985 Children2 1 Contents 1 Life and career 1 1 Political activism 2 Stage productions 3 Filmography 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksLife and career editRyskind was born in Brooklyn New York the son of Russian Jewish immigrants Ida Edelson and Abraham Ryskind 2 He attended Columbia University but was suspended shortly before he was due to graduate after he called university president Nicholas Murray Butler Czar Nicholas in the pages of the humor magazine Jester in 1917 Ryskind was criticizing Butler for refusing to allow Ilya Tolstoy speak on campus 3 From 1927 to 1945 Ryskind was author of numerous scripts and musical lyrics for Broadway productions and Hollywood films and he later directed several productions He collaborated with George S Kaufman on several Broadway hits In 1933 he earned the Pulitzer Prize for drama for the Broadway production Of Thee I Sing a musical written in collaboration with composer George Gershwin 4 Ryskind wrote or cowrote several Marx Brothers theatrical and screenplays including the book for the Broadway musical Animal Crackers 1929 with Kaufman and he wrote the screenplays for the film versions of The Cocoanuts 1929 and Animal Crackers 1930 Later he cowrote again with Kaufman the screenplay for A Night at the Opera 1935 which helped revive interest in the Marx Brothers and was selected by the American Film Institute as among the top 100 comedy films In working on that script Ryskind was heavily involved in the cleanup process watching the brothers repeatedly perform sections of the play before live audiences to determine which lines worked and which did not In an interview with Richard J Anobile in The Marx Brothers Scrapbook Groucho Marx said that he was so appalled by an early draft of the script which was reportedly written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby that he screamed Why fuck around with second rate talent get Kaufman and Ryskind to write the screenplay 5 Ryskind also rewrote the stage version of Room Service 1938 reworking the plot to make the film suitable for the Marx Brothers 6 During that period Ryskind was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his part in writing the films My Man Godfrey starring Carole Lombard 1936 and Stage Door starring Katharine Hepburn 1937 Later he wrote the screenplay for the successful Penny Serenade wrote the stage musical Louisiana Purchase which soon became a film starring Bob Hope and supervised the production of The Lady Comes Across 7 Political activism edit For many years Ryskind had been a member of the Socialist Party of America and during the 1930s he participated in party sponsored activities even performing sketches at antiwar events but he split with the party s Old Guard faction led by Louis Waldman His politics soon moved to the political right In 1940 Ryskind abandoned the Democratic Party and he opposed President Franklin Delano Roosevelt s pursuit of a third term writing the campaign song for that year s Republican Party presidential nominee Wendell Willkie 8 He maintained some ties to the Socialist Party throughout the 1940s and served as a vice chairman of the Keep America Out of War Congress He became a friend to writers Max Eastman 9 Ayn Rand 10 John Dos Passos 11 Suzanne La Follette 12 and Raymond Moley 13 Later he would become a friend to William F Buckley Jr and future president Ronald Reagan 14 In 1947 he appeared before the House Committee on Un American Activities as a friendly witness Ryskind never sold another script after that appearance and he believed that his appearance before HUAC was responsible although there is no direct evidence of an organized campaign against the friendly witnesses 15 In the 1950s Ryskind contributed articles to The Freeman 16 In 1954 he was also a board member of the American Jewish League Against Communism 17 He lent money to Buckley to help start The National Review 18 which began publication in 1955 another journal to which he was an early contributor Ryskind briefly joined the John Birch Society but soon disassociated himself from the group after it began to claim that Roosevelt Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower were part of the Soviet conspiracy 19 He was also a vocal sympathizer with the anti Zionist American Council for Judaism In 1960 Ryskind started to write a feature column in the Los Angeles Times that promoted conservative ideas for the next 11 years His son Allan H Ryskind was the longtime editor of the conservative weekly Human Events 20 The elder Ryskind s autobiography I Shot an Elephant in My Pajamas The Morrie Ryskind Story details his adventures from Broadway to Hollywood as well as his conversion to conservative politics Stage productions editMerry Go Round 1927 with Howard Dietz to music by Henry Souvaine and Jay Gorney Animal Crackers 1929 with George S Kaufman to music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby Ned Wayburn s Gambols 1929 lyricist with music by Walter G Samuels Strike up the Band 1930 bookwriter with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin The Gang s All Here 1931 contributing bookwriter Of Thee I Sing 1931 with George S Kaufman to music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin Pulitzer Prize for Drama Pardon My English 1933 with Herbert Fields to music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin Let Em Eat Cake 1933 sequel to Of Thee I Sing with George S Kaufman to music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin Louisiana Purchase 1941 bookwriter to music and lyrics by Irving Berlin later a film starring Bob Hope The Lady Comes Across 1942 theatre director Filmography editThe Cocoanuts 1929 starring the Marx Brothers Animal Crackers 1930 starring the Marx Brothers A Night at the Opera 1935 starring the Marx Brothers My Man Godfrey 1936 Oscar nomination Stage Door 1937 Oscar nomination Room Service 1938 starring the Marx Brothers Man About Town 1939 His Girl Friday 1940 movie version of The Front Page Penny Serenade 1941 Claudia 1943 Where Do We Go From Here 1945 It s in the Bag 1945 starring Fred AllenBibliography editGeorge S Kaufman et al Kaufman amp Co Broadway Comedies Laurence Maslon ed New York The Library of America 2004 ISBN 1 931082 67 7 includes Animal Crackers and Of Thee I Sing Animal Crackers 1928 with George S Kaufman New York Samuel French s Musical Library 1984 ISBN 978 0573681370 Of Thee I Sing 1931 with George S Kaufman and Ira Gershwin New York Knopf 1932 Samuel French s Musical Library 1963 ISBN 978 0573680373 Let Em Eat Cake 1933 with George S Kaufman and Ira Gershwin New York Knopf 1933 I Shot an Elephant in My Pajamas the Morrie Ryskind Story with John H M Roberts Lafayette LA Huntington House 1994 ISBN 1 56384 000 6 Nicholas Miraculous The Amazing Career of the Redoubtable Dr Nicholas Murray Butler Michael Rosenthal Columbia University Press 2006 ISBN 978 0 231 17421 3 References edit Schmalz Jeffrey 25 August 1985 Morrie Ryskind Dies at 89 Wrote Plays and Screen Comedies The New York Times I Shot an Elephant in My Pajamas The Morrie Ryskind Story by Morrie Ryskind John H Roberts Alibris for Libraries hereafter Ryskind Pajamas Rosenthal Michael Nicholas Miraculous The Amazing Career of the Redoubtable Dr Nicholas Murray Butler 2006 Columbia University Press pp 238 239 Ryskind Pajamas p 88 99 Marx Groucho Anobile Richard J 1973 The Marx Bros scrapbook Groucho Marx Richard J Anobile Google Boeken Darien House ISBN 9780517515464 Retrieved 2013 12 25 Ryskind Pajamas pp 101 117 Ryskind Pajamas pp 119 141 Ryskind Pajamas pp 169 171 Diggins John Up From Communism Harper amp Row 1975 pp 201 233 Ryskind Pajamas p 184 and O Neill William L The Last Romantic a Life of Max Eastman 1991 Transaction Burns Jennifer Goddess of the Market Ayn Rand and the American Right 2009 Oxford Univ Press p 131 Ryskind Pajamas p 179 184 Chamberlain John A Life with the Printed Word Regnery 1982 p 138 Ryskind Pajamas p 189 Ryskind Pajamas p 178 pp 206 208 Ryskind Pajamas pp 165 166 Chamberlain John A Life With the Printed Word p 138 Piper Michael Collins 2006 The Judas Goats The Enemy Within American Free Press ISBN 9780981808628 Retrieved 21 March 2020 Ryskind Pajamas pp 183 184 Ryskind Pajamas pp 198 199 Ryskind Pajamas pp 186 187 External links edit nbsp Biography portal Morrie Ryskind at IMDb Morrie Ryskind papers 1911 1985 held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Morrie Ryskind amp oldid 1217292868, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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