Paul Jarrico

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Paul Jarrico (born January 12, 1915 in Los Angeles , California as Israel Payssah Shapiro , † October 18, 1997 , ibid) was an American screenwriter and film producer .

Life

Paul Jarrico was born Israel Payssah Shapiro in Los Angeles. His father, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, was a lawyer, poet, and socialist. During his studies at UCLA Jarrico joined the Communist Youth Association , in which he was an active participant from 1937 to 1952. In 1940 he officially renamed himself Paul Jarrico. During World War II , he served in the Merchant Navy and the United States Navy . Ten years later he was during an argument with Howard Hughes in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee cited, where he was faced with several charges, so that it was not only put on a blacklist, and lost his job in Hollywood, but also his ID card was withdrawn.

By then Jarrico had written several scripts for entertainment comedies from 1930 and received an Oscar nomination in 1942 for his screenplay Tom, Dick and Harry in the category Best Original Screenplay . After his exile, it became increasingly difficult for him to work. His script work was either not mentioned at all or at most under the pseudonym Peter A. Chilles / Peter Achilles . This pseudonym was used, for example, after he lived in Europe from 1958 to 1978, in the films The Hot Night and Who Knows Johnny R.? related.

After his return from Europe he worked as a script doctor, where he revised the biography of Stalin and taught film at the University of California, Santa Barbara .

Paul Jarrico died in a car accident on October 18, 1997 when he deviated from California State Route 1 near Ojai and crashed into a tree. He had just attended the 50th anniversary celebrations commemorating the victims of the Communist Party's interrogation before the Un-American Activities Committee.

Jarrico was married to Sylvia Gussin from 1937 to 1966. In the year of the divorce he married Yvette Le Floc'h from France, from whom he divorced in 1977. From 1992 until his death he was married to Lia Benedett.

Filmography (selection)

Awards (selection)

literature

  • Larry Ceplair: The Marxist and the Movies: A Biography of Paul Jarrico , Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2007.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Writer Dies After Long-Awaited Triumph , latimes.com
  2. ^ Obituary: Paul Jarrico , independent.co.uk
  3. ↑ Paul Jarrico, 82, Blacklisted Screenwriter , nytimes.com
personal data
SURNAME Jarrico, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shapiro, Israel Payssah (maiden name); Achilles, Peter (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American screenwriter and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH January 12, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles , California
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1997
Place of death Los Angeles , California