Robert Pirosh
Robert Pirosh | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Director, Writer, Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1935-1981 |
Robert Pirosh (April 1 1910 - December 25 1989) was an American screenwriter and director.
Background
Pirosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the Baltimore City College highschool in 1928. Pirosh began his film career in 1934 as a junior writer for MGM, working with fellow newcomer George Seaton. The two collaborated on the Marx Brothers' 1935 comedy A Night at the Opera and their next film, A Day at the Races in 1937. In 1942 he collaborate on the screwball comedy Rings on Her Fingers for Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney.
Pirosh served in WWII as a Master Sergeant with the 320th Regiment, 35th Infantry Division. He saw action in the Ardennes and Rhineland campaigns. During the Battle of the Ardennes, he led a patrol into Bastogne to support the surrounded American forces there. In 1944 he produced his first film, Danny Kaye's Up in Arms. He earned an Academy Award in 1949 for his script for the World War II drama "Battleground", the first film based on the Ardennes battle, which he also produced. In 1951, he was nominated for another Oscar for the screenplay Go for Broke!. This was his directorial debut. He would go on to write the story for the highly regarded Steve McQueen World War II film "Hell Is for Heroes", directed by Don Siegel, believed[citation needed] to be the basis for TV's Combat! (which he created). He also directed 1954's "Valley of the Kings".