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1-11 of 11
- The Oscar-winning screenwriter, Ring Lardner, Jr., will always be known for one of two things: that he was the son of one of the greatest humorists American literature has produced, and he was one of the Hollywood 10, the ten film-makers who refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigating subversion in Hollywood and were fined and jailed for the defiance.
The son of newspaper sports columnist and best-selling writer Ring Lardner, the future double Oscar winner was born on August 19, 1915 in Chicago, Illinois. Ring, Sr. (who was born Ringgold Wilmer Lardner) became famous for his "Saturday Evening Post" series, "You Know Me Al", fictional letters being sent from one baseball player to another. Mawell Perkins, editor-extraordinaire at the publishing house, Charles Scribners & Son, collected Lardner's columns and stories into publishable form (Ernest Hemingway, another Scribers writer, was a great fan) and they were a great success. Such was Lardner's renown, that 30 years after his death (while his son and namesake was still officially blacklisted), he was the first sportswriter inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, for meritorious contributions to baseball writing, in 1963.
On his part, Ring, Jr. became a reporter for the "New York Daily Mirror" after dropping out of Princeton. He moved West and became a publicist for producer David O. Selznick, where he met his future wife, who also worked for the producer. He also worked as a script doctor for Selznik, then went on to become a screenwriter, often working in collaboration.
During the Spanish Civil War, Lardner moved steadily left in his political thinking, and helped raise funds for the Republican cause. He joined the Communist Party and became involved in organizing anti-fascist demonstrations. Although his leftist politics were known to the studios, in the 1930s and early '40s, Hollywood did not shy away from hiring talented writers no matter what their political proclivities, and employed many known (as well as secret) communists.
In 1943, he and Michael Kanin won the Oscar in 1942 for their Woman of the Year (1942) screenplay. He wrote such great pictures as Laura (1944) for Otto Preminger and, in 1947, 20th Century Fox gave him a contract at $2,000 a week, making him one of the highest paid scribes in La-La Land. Ironically, at the time of this seeming triumph, his career and life were about to unravel.
When it was Lardner turn to be hauled before HUAC and asked, "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States?", he came up with a witty riposte.
"I could answer the question exactly the way you want, but if I did, I would hate myself in the morning". After the appeals process against HUAC's citations for contempt of Congress played out, Lardner was sentenced to a year in prison and fined. More importantly, he was blacklisted and could not find work in Hollywood except under pseudonyms for work "fronted" by others. After the blacklist was officially broken when Preminger hired Dalton Trumbo to adapt Leon Uris's novel "Exodus" for his 1960 production (Kirk Douglas then immediately hired Trumbo to write a screenplay for his upcoming Spartacus (1960)), the blacklisted writers slowly returned to work under their own names. Lardner was hired by producer Martin Ransohoff, who respected writers more than did the average Hollywood producer, to write the screenplay for The Cincinnati Kid (1965) under his own name. His comeback was complete when, in 1971, he won his second Oscar for adapting Robert Hooker's comic novel, "M*A*S*H" (1970) (ironically, due to director Robert Altman's improvisational style, little of Lardner's dialogue remained in the movie). His career, though, had been effectively aborted by the blacklist, and he only was credited with two more screenplays during his lifetime.
Ring Lardner, Jr. was the last of the Hollywood 10 to die, passing away on Halloween, October 31, 2000, in New York City from cancer. He was 85 years old and had long outlived most of the witch-hunters who had tormented him. He was survived by his wife, Frances Chaney, and five children. - J.C. Curtiss was born on 24 June 1918 in Vance Creek, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Bert Rigby, You're a Fool (1989) and Adam-12 (1968). He died on 31 October 2000 in Carefree, Arizona, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Timuçin Caymaz was born on 25 March 1928 in Istanbul, Turkey. He was an actor, known for The Message (1976), Insanlari Seveceksin (1979) and Akrep Yuvasi (1977). He died on 31 October 2000 in Istanbul, Turkey.- Won awards at Harvard for creative writing; worked at The Sun Newspaper and The Guthrie; won Putnam's prize for best first novel (The Wind Chill Factor).
From Dubuque, Iowa, after graduating from college he moved to the Twin Cities, MN where he and his wife, Kari Sandven, had two children (Thomas Eaton, Rachel Claire). Divorced in 1969, he went on to marry Camille D'Ambrose, a local actress. They moved to Los Angeles for a few years, then returned to Orono, MN. Novels continued to flow from his fountain pen through the years. Gifford eventually moved to New York--a city he loved whose people were of infinite importance to him. In 1996, he turned his attention to renovating his childhood home in Dubuque, spending more time in Iowa than New York during his last years. He embraced the community of Dubuque, as they embraced their prodigal son. Featured in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald, Gifford recounted his every day occurrences, from learning the pleasure of getting a dog (Katie Maxwell, the Scottie) to peeves and pleasures of the town. Diagnosed with terminal cancer in February, 2000, Gifford spent his remaining months reading, watching old movies, and chatting with friends and family. He passed away on an unseasonably warm Halloween, just as the ghosts and goblins started their tricks.
Gifford lived life large, had friends throughout the world, and lived life by his favorite credo--we're not here for a long time; we're here for a good time.
He is missed by many. - Adele Ronson was born on 18 July 1906 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Her Unborn Child (1930), One Life to Live (1968) and I've Got a Secret (1952). She was married to Theodore Reichman and Horace H. Nahm. She died on 31 October 2000 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Although his repertoire included almost every popular musical work, Brooks Smith was best known as an accompanist, and he knew the entire range of accompaniments.
While studying at Juilliard under Josef and Rosina Lhevinne, Smith focused on learning the song accompaniment repertoire, graduating in 1939. Among the first musicians he accompanied were mezzo-soprano Rise' Stevens and longtime N.Y. Metropolitan baritone Mack Harrell. But he is best remembered as the accompanist for violinist Jascha Heifetz. The easygoing, unassuming Smith was a perfect match for the temperamental and demanding Heifetz, and their partnership lasted for 18 years, from 1954, when Heifetz parted with longtime accompanist Emanuel Bay, until Heifetz retired in 1972. During this time, Smith had a brief tenure at the University of Southern California, where the Heifetz Master Class series listed here on IMDB was made.
In 1962, Smith was appointed to the Eastman School of Music, where he served as an instructor in chamber music and piano accompaniment, then moved back to California and became an instructor at USC, where he remained until his retirement in 1988. His students spoke and speak of him reverently. Smith, while not an overbearing teacher, always demanded that his students be familiar with the solo repertoire (Smith himself could play almost anything on the piano, including symphonies, string quartets, and movie scores) so that their technical skills wouldn't suffer.
Smith was an avid crossword fan, and he had a large vocabulary and was rarely stumped by an obscure word that his students or friends would spring upon him.
Smith broke his right shoulder in 1986 and was unable to effectively play the piano with his right hand. He dealt with this by buying and learning music for left-hand only.
Smith died in Covina California in 2000 at the age of 88. - Muriel Zillah was born on 14 June 1909 in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Happidrome (1943), Danger List (1957) and Probation Officer (1959). She died on 31 October 2000 in Camden, London, England, UK.
- Walter Linsenmaier was born on 18 August 1917 in Stuttgart, Germany. He was married to Franziska Hartmann. He died on 31 October 2000 in Ebikon, Lucerne, Switzerland.
- Yevgeniy Glyadinskiy was born on 26 March 1950 in Omsk, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Meatgrinder (1991), Lyubimchik (1991) and Komnata (1987). He died on 31 October 2000 in Perm, Russia.
- Actress
Fannie May Jones was born on 5 February 1911 in the USA. She was an actress. She was married to Bob Jones Jr.. She died on 31 October 2000 in the USA.- Semyon Sorin was born on 11 November 1921 in Rzhev, Tverskaya gubernaya, USSR. He was an actor, known for Detskiy mir (1982) and Kindergarten (1984). He died on 31 October 2000.