Irene Diamond (May 7, 1910 – January 21, 2003) was an American

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

talent scout and later in life a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Early life

Irene Diamond was born Irene Levine on May 7, 1910, to Jewish immigrant parents.

Career

Diamond was an assistant editor for

Warner Brothers 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 ...

in their story division. During a 25-year collaboration with producer

Hal B. Wallis Harold B. Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wit ...

, she made recommendations on many scripts, including '' The Maltese Falcon'' and ''

Dark Victory ''Dark Victory'' is a 1939 American melodrama film directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Bette Davis, and featuring George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Henry Travers, and Cora Witherspoon. The screenplay by Casey ...

''. In 1941 on a visit to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

she read an unproduced play titled '' Everybody Comes to Rick's'', by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. After she persuaded Wallis to purchase the script for $20,000, he retitled it and produced the film ''

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''.

Philanthropy

Diamond was co-chair of the Aaron Diamond Foundation with her husband from the 1950s onwards. Following his sudden death in 1985, Diamond became the sole president of the foundation. They established the

Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, often abbreviated as ADARC, is a United States medical research institution dedicated to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS. It is headed by scientist Dr. David Ho, who was the 1996 Time magazine Person of the Year, and ...

in 1991. Diamond founded the Irene Diamond Fund in 1994. The fund endowed AIDS research. In 2000, Diamond founded the New York Choreographic Institute alongside

Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish former ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and J ...

. In 1999, then

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

presented her with the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

award. She was elected a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 2001.

Personal life

She was married to real estate developer Aaron Diamond from 1942 until his death in 1985. They resided on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

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in New York City, and had one daughter, Jean.

Death

Diamond died on January 21, 2003, in New York City.

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20060929120906/http://www.foundationnews.org/CME/article.cfm?ID=1454 *https://web.archive.org/web/20061004085231/http://www.adarc.org/news/Irene%20Diamond/LA%20times.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20061004091308/http://www.adarc.org/about/history-irenediamond.htm 1910 births 2003 deaths People from the Upper East Side Philanthropists from New York (state) Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews {{philanthropist-stub

Early life

Career

Philanthropy

Personal life

Death

See also

References