Jo Swerling(1893-1964)
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Oscar-nominated Hollywood screenwriter Jo Swerling, who also was a Tony
Award-winning Broadway writer and lyricist, was born in Berdichev,
Ukraine in what was then the Russian Empire. His family emigrated from
Czarist Russia and he grew up on the Lower East Side in New York City.
From a youthful job peddling newspapers, he worked his way up to
becoming a journalist, working on newspapers and magazines in the
1920s, including the prestigious "Vanity Fair". He became a playwright,
like other famous journalists of the era (most notably
Ben Hecht and
Charles MacArthur of
The Front Page (1931) fame).
Swerling wrote the stage show "Street Cinderella" for the
The Marx Brothers and the screenplay
for their first film, the 1921 comedy short
Humor Risk (1921), starring Chico,
Groucho, Harpo and Zeppo. Groucho supposedly hated it so much, he
burned the negative. The movie was never released.
Swerling's first legitimate production on the Great White Way was the
musical-revue "The New Yorkers", which ran for a then-respectable 52
performances in March and April 1927. Swerling wrote the book and the
lyrics for the songs. His next foray on Broadway was the more
successful "Kibitzer", an original comedy he co-wrote with
Edward G. Robinson (who also
co-starred in the show). It ran for 120 performances in February
through June 1929.
Wall Street famously laid an egg in October 1929, and Swerling would
not be back on Broadway for 21 years. Hollywood beckoned.
In 1929, Universal adapted his play "The Understander" into the movie
Melody Lane (1929) while Paramount
released The Kibitzer (1930) the
following year (without the participation of Edward G. Robinson).
Columbia Pictures, the premier studio on Hollywood's "Poverty Row",
hired Swerling, and his first screen credit was for the screenplay for
Frank Capra's
Ladies of Leisure (1930). He
would received screen credit on Capra's next five films in the period
1930-32, before Capra turned to
Robert Riskin as his main
collaborator. (Jo would work on the screenplay for Capra's classic
It's a Wonderful Life (1946),
providing additional scenes.)
Swerling worked on scores of films before he received his last screen
credit for
King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961)
in 1961. He received his sole Oscar nomination for
The Pride of the Yankees (1942).
He was one of the many screenwriters, including Ben Hecht, who
worked uncredited on the Oscar-winning
Gone with the Wind (1939)
screenplay (won by Sidney Howard).
Swerling's greatest professional success came when he returned to
Broadway, co-writing the book for the classic musical
Guys and Dolls (1955) with
Abe Burrows, for which he shared the Tony
and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best Musical. The
show was a smash, running from November 1950 to November 1953 for a
total of 1,200 performances. The screenplay for the 1955 movie
adaptation was written by director
Joseph L. Mankiewicz, whose brother
Herman J. Mankiewicz shared an
Oscar nod for Best Screenplay in 1943 with Swerling.
Jo Swerling died in Los Angeles, California on October 23, 1964. He was
71 years old.
Award-winning Broadway writer and lyricist, was born in Berdichev,
Ukraine in what was then the Russian Empire. His family emigrated from
Czarist Russia and he grew up on the Lower East Side in New York City.
From a youthful job peddling newspapers, he worked his way up to
becoming a journalist, working on newspapers and magazines in the
1920s, including the prestigious "Vanity Fair". He became a playwright,
like other famous journalists of the era (most notably
Ben Hecht and
Charles MacArthur of
The Front Page (1931) fame).
Swerling wrote the stage show "Street Cinderella" for the
The Marx Brothers and the screenplay
for their first film, the 1921 comedy short
Humor Risk (1921), starring Chico,
Groucho, Harpo and Zeppo. Groucho supposedly hated it so much, he
burned the negative. The movie was never released.
Swerling's first legitimate production on the Great White Way was the
musical-revue "The New Yorkers", which ran for a then-respectable 52
performances in March and April 1927. Swerling wrote the book and the
lyrics for the songs. His next foray on Broadway was the more
successful "Kibitzer", an original comedy he co-wrote with
Edward G. Robinson (who also
co-starred in the show). It ran for 120 performances in February
through June 1929.
Wall Street famously laid an egg in October 1929, and Swerling would
not be back on Broadway for 21 years. Hollywood beckoned.
In 1929, Universal adapted his play "The Understander" into the movie
Melody Lane (1929) while Paramount
released The Kibitzer (1930) the
following year (without the participation of Edward G. Robinson).
Columbia Pictures, the premier studio on Hollywood's "Poverty Row",
hired Swerling, and his first screen credit was for the screenplay for
Frank Capra's
Ladies of Leisure (1930). He
would received screen credit on Capra's next five films in the period
1930-32, before Capra turned to
Robert Riskin as his main
collaborator. (Jo would work on the screenplay for Capra's classic
It's a Wonderful Life (1946),
providing additional scenes.)
Swerling worked on scores of films before he received his last screen
credit for
King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961)
in 1961. He received his sole Oscar nomination for
The Pride of the Yankees (1942).
He was one of the many screenwriters, including Ben Hecht, who
worked uncredited on the Oscar-winning
Gone with the Wind (1939)
screenplay (won by Sidney Howard).
Swerling's greatest professional success came when he returned to
Broadway, co-writing the book for the classic musical
Guys and Dolls (1955) with
Abe Burrows, for which he shared the Tony
and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best Musical. The
show was a smash, running from November 1950 to November 1953 for a
total of 1,200 performances. The screenplay for the 1955 movie
adaptation was written by director
Joseph L. Mankiewicz, whose brother
Herman J. Mankiewicz shared an
Oscar nod for Best Screenplay in 1943 with Swerling.
Jo Swerling died in Los Angeles, California on October 23, 1964. He was
71 years old.