I. A. L. Diamond (born Ițec (Itzek) Domnici; June 27, 1920 – April 21, 1988) was a Romanian–American screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

Life and career

Diamond was born in

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a List of Moldova–Romania border crossings, border chec ...

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, i.e. present day

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. He emigrated with his mother and sister, following his father to the Crown Heights area of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in the United States. There, he studied at the Boy's High School, showing ability in mathematics, competing in the state Mathematics Olympiads in 1936–37 and winning several medals therein. Diamond was referred to as "Iz" in Hollywood, and was known to quip that his initials stood for "Interscholastic Algebra League", a prize he also won while attending Boys' High School. Diamond completed his undergraduate studies at Columbia in 1941. There he studied journalism, publishing in the ''

Columbia Daily Spectator The ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' (known colloquially as ''Spec'') is the student newspaper of Columbia University. Founded in 1877, it is the second-oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after '' The Harvard Crimson'', a ...

'' under the pseudonym "I. A. L. Diamond". He was editor of the humor magazine '' Jester of Columbia'' and a member of the Philolexian Society. He became the only person to single-handedly write four consecutive productions of the annual revue, the

Varsity Show The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University. Founded in 1893 as a fundraiser for the university's fledgling athletic teams, the Varsity Show now draws together the entire Columbia undergraduate community for a series of ...

and a spare should they need one. After graduating, he abandoned the plan to pursue his master's in engineering at Columbia and accepted a short-term contract in Hollywood. A succession of limited-term contracts ensued, notably at Paramount, where Diamond worked on projects without receiving a writing credit. He moved to

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, where he made his first film ''Murder in the Blue Room''. It was a year later at

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, that he achieved his first real success and consequent recognition with ''Never Say Goodbye''. He worked at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

for four years. In 1957, he began collaborating with

, working on the film '' Love in the Afternoon''. They later wrote the classic films, ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...

'', ''

The Apartment ''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray, with Ray Walston and Edie ...

'' (which won an

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

), ''

One, Two, Three ''One, Two, Three'' is a 1961 American political comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, and written by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond. It is based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play ''Egy, kettő, három'' by Ferenc Molnár, with a "plot borrowe ...

'', '' Irma la Douce'', ''

Kiss Me, Stupid ''Kiss Me, Stupid'' is a 1964 American sex comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on the play ''L'ora della fantasia'' ('' ...

'' and '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes''. In 1969, Diamond wrote the screenplay for the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the play Cactus Flower. In total, Diamond and Wilder wrote the scripts for twelve films. Some featured characters engaging in an endless but friendly squabbling, such as Joe and Jerry in ''Some Like It Hot'' and Holmes and Watson in ''The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes''. Diamond's widow said that these characters were based on her husband's relationship with Wilder. In 1980, Diamond and Wilder received the Writers Guild of America's Laurel Award for career achievement in screenwriting. Wilder had previously received the Laurel Award in 1957 for his partnership with

Charles Brackett Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with Billy Wilder on sixteen films. Life and career Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of ...

. Diamond died of

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

on April 21, 1988.

Filmography

As writer

* '' Murder in the Blue Room'' (1944) * '' Never Say Goodbye'' (1946) * '' Two Guys from Milwaukee'' (1946) * '' Love and Learn'' (1947) * '' Two Guys from Texas'' (1948) * ''

Romance on the High Seas ''Romance on the High Seas'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''It's Magic'') is a 1948 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore and Doris Day in her film debut. Bus ...

'' (1948) (additional dialogue) * '' Always Together'' (1948) * ''

It's a Great Feeling ''It's a Great Feeling'' is a 1949 American Technicolor musical comedy film starring Doris Day, Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan in a parody of what goes on behind the scenes in Hollywood movie making. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Mel Sh ...

'' (1949) (story) * '' The Girl from Jones Beach'' (1949) * '' Let's Make It Legal'' (1951) * ''

Love Nest ''Love Nest'' is a 1951 American comedy-drama film directed by Joseph Newman, and starring June Haver, William Lundigan, Frank Fay, Marilyn Monroe, and Jack Paar. It features an early supporting role for Monroe, and is one of the few films ...

'' (1951) * '' Something for the Birds'' (1952) * '' Monkey Business'' (1952) * '' That Certain Feeling'' (1956) * '' Love in the Afternoon'' (1957) * '' Merry Andrew'' (1958) * ''

'' (1959) (screenplay) * ''

'' (1960) * ''

'' (1961) * '' Irma la Douce'' (1963) * ''

'' (1964) * ''

The Fortune Cookie ''The Fortune Cookie'' (alternative United Kingdom, British title: ''Meet Whiplash Willie'') is a 1966 American black comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It is the first film in which Jack Lemmon collaborated with Wal ...

'' (1966) * '' Cactus Flower'' (1969) * '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970) * ''

Avanti! ''Avanti!'' (; Italian interjection – 'come in!') is a 1972 comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on Samuel A. Taylor's pla ...

'' (1972) * ''

The Front Page ''The Front Page'' is a Broadway theatre, Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema severa ...

'' (1974) * ''

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

'' (1978) * '' Buddy Buddy'' (1981)

As associate producer

* ''Some Like It Hot'' (1959) * ''The Apartment'' (1960) * ''One, Two, Three'' (1961) * ''Irma la Douce'' (1963) * ''Kiss Me, Stupid'' (1964) * ''The Fortune Cookie'' (1966) * ''The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970) * ''Fedora'' (1978)

Award and honors

Academy Awards

Golden Globe Awards

WGA Awards

*1957: '' Love in the Afternoon'' – American Comedy *1959: ''

'' – American Comedy *1960: ''

'' – American Comedy *1961: ''

'' – American Comedy *1963: '' Irma la Douce'' – American Comedy *1966: ''

'' – American Comedy *1969: '' Cactus Flower'' – Adapted Screenplay (Comedy) *1970: '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' – Original Screenplay (Comedy) *1972: ''

'' – Adapted Screenplay (Comedy) *1974: ''

'' – Adapted Screenplay (Comedy) *1980:

Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement The Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement (also known as the Screen Laurel Award) is a lifetime achievement award given by the Writers Guild of America. It is given "to that member of the Guild who, in the opinion of the current Board of Dir ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, I. A. L. 1920 births 1988 deaths Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Jewish Romanian writers Romanian emigrants to the United States American male screenwriters Jewish American screenwriters Columbia College (New York) alumni People from Ungheni Boys High School (Brooklyn) alumni Screenwriters from New York (state) People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn Deaths from multiple myeloma in California 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews Writers of Sherlock Holmes pastiches