Elwood Ullman (May 27, 1903 — October 11, 1985) was an American film comedy writer most famous for his credits on

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

shorts and many other low-budget comedies.

Career

A native of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, Ullman chose a writing career, supplying humorous articles for magazines in the 1930s. He submitted script ideas to

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, and the studio assigned him to the short-subject department. Producer

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; 17 September 1900 – 30 April 1985) was an American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges. Early years White began working in motion pictures in the ...

teamed Ullman with Al Giebler, a former sight-gag writer for

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

in the silent-film days. Ullman was soon completing scripts by himself, and wrote for most of Columbia's short subject stars, including The Three Stooges,

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

Harry Langdon Henry Philmore "Harry" Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American actor and comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', December 27 ...

, and

Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...

. Ullman worked closely with Columbia producer

Hugh McCollum Hugh McCollum (March 9, 1900March 16, 1968) was an American film producer best known for his credits on Three Stooges short subject comedies. Career McCollum was born in the Philadelphia suburb of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, Ridley Park, Pennsyl ...

and writer-director

Edward Bernds Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...

until McCollum and Bernds left the studio in 1952. Bernds then became a writer-director for

The Bowery Boys The Bowery Boys are fictional New York City characters, portrayed by a company of New York actors, who were the subject of 48 feature films released by Monogram Pictures and its successor Allied Artists Pictures Corporation from 1946 through 1 ...

, and hired Ullman to write for the popular feature-length comedies. Ullman and Bernds were nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

in 1955 for the film ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

''. Unfortunately the Academy had confused the high-budget

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

feature with Ullman's work on a Bowery Boys movie of the same name. Ullman and Bernds declined the nomination but were permitted to keep the certificates of recognition. Ullman continued to work with Bernds into the 1960s, contributing to several Three Stooges feature films including ''

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules ''The Three Stooges Meet Hercules'' is a 1962 American comedy fantasy film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the third feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Ho ...

'' and ''

The Three Stooges in Orbit ''The Three Stooges In Orbit'' is a 1962 American comedy film, comedy science fiction film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the fourth feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio cons ...

''.Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', pp. 318, 510; Comedy III Productions, Inc.,

Death

Ullman died of

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

on October 11, 1985, at age 82.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ullman, Elwood 1903 births 1985 deaths American male screenwriters 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters