Jo Swerling (April 8, 1897 – October 23, 1964) was an American theatre writer, lyricist and screenwriter. Jo-swerling

Early life and early career

Born Joseph Swerling in

Berdichev Berdychiv ( uk, Берди́чів, ; pl, Berdyczów; yi, באַרדיטשעװ, Barditshev; russian: Берди́чев, Berdichev) is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center ...

, Ukraine, Swerling was one of a number of Jewish refugees from the

Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states th ...

regime. He grew up on New York City's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

, where he sold newspapers to help support his family. He worked as a newspaper and magazine writer in the early 1920s. He wrote the Marx Brothers' "The Cinderella Girls," which was a flop, and also wrote their first movie, the unreleased silent comedy short film ''

Humor Risk ''Humor Risk'', also known as ''Humorisk'', is a lost unreleased 1921 silent comedy short film that was the first film to star the Marx Brothers (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx and Zeppo Marx). Production ''Humor Risk'' was directed b ...

'' (1921). He scored a major success with the book and lyrics for the musical revue ''The New Yorkers'' (1927) and the play ''The Kibitzer'' (1929), the latter co-written with actor

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

In Hollywood

Swerling was brought to Hollywood by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

chief

Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His father, Joseph Cohn, wa ...

to work on the screenplay for

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

's '' Ladies of Leisure'' (1930), the first of several collaborations with the director. His dozens of screenplays in the 1930s and 1940s include '' Platinum Blonde,'' ''

Behind the Mask Behind the Mask may refer to: Film and television * ''Behind the Mask'' (1932 film), a film featuring Boris Karloff * ''Behind the Mask'' (1936 film) or ''The Man Behind the Mask'', a British mystery film by Michael Powell * ''Behind the Mas ...

,'' '' Once to Every Woman,'' ''

The Pride of the Yankees ''The Pride of the Yankees'' is a 1942 American film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Sam Wood, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. It is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who ...

'' (for which he received an Academy Award nomination), '' Lifeboat,'' ''

Leave Her to Heaven ''Leave Her to Heaven'' is a 1945 American psychological thriller film noir melodrama directed by John M. Stahl and starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, and Vincent Price. It follows a socialite who marries a prominent novelist ...

,'' and ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet '' The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loo ...

.'' He also provided some uncredited writing for '' Gone with the Wind''.

Back to Broadway

Swerling returned to Broadway in 1950 to co-write the book for ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and als ...

'' with Abraham "Abe" Burrows, winning the 1951

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

and

New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...

Award.

Personal

Swerling was the father of

Peter Swerling Peter Swerling (4 March 1929 – 25 August 2000) was one of the most influential radar theoreticians in the second half of the 20th century. He is best known for the class of statistically "fluctuating target" scattering models he developed at the ...

, the world's leading radar theoretician of the second half of the 20th century, and Jo Swerling Jr., producer of such television series as ''

Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are tr ...

,'' ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigat ...

,'' ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, ''Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey poli ...

,'' ''

The Greatest American Hero ''The Greatest American Hero'' is an American comedy-drama superhero television series that aired on ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour pilot movie on March 18, 1981, and ran until February 2, 1983. The se ...

,'' ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court m ...

,'' and ''

Profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

.'' Swerling maintained a condo in the Golf Club Estates neighborhood of

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by la ...

Partial filmography

;As screenwriter * ''

'' (short, 1921) * '' Miss Nobody'' (story, 1926) * '' Around the Corner'' (1930) * '' Sisters'' (1930) * '' Hell's Island'' (1930) * ''

Ladies Must Play Ladies Must Play is a 1930 pre-Code comedy film starring Dorothy Sebastian and Neil Hamilton directed by Raymond Cannon. Tony, a popular but bankrupt New York socialite, sends his stenographer to Newport to find and marry a millionaire, but ...

'' (1930) * '' Rain or Shine'' (1930) * '' The Squealer'' (1930) * '' Ladies of Leisure'' (1930) * '' Madonna of the Streets'' (1930) * ''

Dirigible An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

'' (1931) * '' The Miracle Woman'' (1931) * '' Last Parade'' (1931) * '' Ten Cents a Dance'' (1931) * ''

Carne de Cabaret ''Ten Cents a Dance'' is a 1931 American pre-Code romance-drama film directed by Lionel Barrymore and starring Barbara Stanwyck as a married taxi dancer who falls in love with one of her customers. The film was inspired by the popular song of t ...

'' (1931) * '' The Good Bad Girl'' (1931) * '' The Deceiver'' (1931) * '' Platinum Blonde'' (1931) * '' Forbidden'' (1932) * ''

Shopworn ''Shopworn'' is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Nick Grinde and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Regis Toomey. Written by Jo Swerling and Robert Riskin, based on a story by Sarah Y. Mason, the film is about a poor hard ...

'' (1932) * '' Hollywood Speaks'' (1932) * '' War Correspondent'' (1932) * '' Washington Merry-Go-Round'' (1932) * '' Man Against Woman'' (1932) * ''

'' (1932) * '' Love Affair'' (1932) * ''

Attorney for the Defense ''Attorney for the Defense'' is a 1932 American pre-Code crime film directed by Irving Cummings and starring Edmund Lowe, Evelyn Brent, and Constance Cummings. Cast * Edmund Lowe as William J. Burton * Evelyn Brent as Val Lorraine * Constance ...

'' (1932) * '' As the Devil Commands'' (1932) * '' The Circus Queen Murder'' (1933) * '' Below the Sea'' (1933) * '' As the Devil Commands'' (1933) * '' The Wrecker'' (1933) * '' East of Fifth Avenue'' (1933) * '' Man's Castle'' (1933) * ''

The Woman I Stole ''The Woman I Stole'' is a 1933 American pre-Code adventure film directed by Irving Cummings, starring Jack Holt, Fay Wray and Donald Cook. It is based on the novel ''Tampico'' by Joseph Hergesheimer, with the setting shifted from Mexico to Nor ...

'' (1933) * '' No Greater Glory'' (1934) * '' Sisters Under the Skin'' (1934) * '' The Defense Rests'' (1934) * ''

Lady by Choice ''Lady by Choice'' is a 1934 American romantic drama film released by Columbia Pictures starring Carole Lombard as a fan dancer and May Robson as a homeless drunk asked to pose as the dancer's mother for a publicity stunt, with unexpected consequ ...

'' (1934) * '' Once to Every Woman'' (1934) * '' Love Me Forever'' (1935) * '' The Whole Town's Talking'' (1935) * ''

The Music Goes 'Round ''The Music Goes 'Round'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Harry Richman, Rochelle Hudson and Walter Connolly Walter Connolly (April 8, 1887 – May 28, 1940) was an American character a ...

'' (1936) * '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1936) * '' Double Wedding'' (1937) * '' Dr. Rhythm'' (1938) * '' I Am the Law'' (1938) * '' Made for Each Other'' (1939) * '' The Real Glory'' (1939) * '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) (not credited) * '' The Westerner'' (1940) * ''

Blood and Sand Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

'' (1941) * ''

Confirm or Deny ''Confirm or Deny'' is a 1941 film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Archie Mayo and Fritz Lang (uncredited), and starring by Don Ameche and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Jo Swerling, based on a story by Samuel Fuller and Henry ...

'' (1941) * ''

'' (1942) * '' Crash Dive'' (1943) * '' A Lady Takes a Chance'' (1943) * '' Lifeboat'' (1944) * ''

'' (1945) * ''

'' (1946) (uncredited) * '' Thunder in the East'' (1952) * ''

'' (1955) * '' The Big Bankroll'' (1961) * '' King of the Roaring Twenties'' (1961) ;Other * '' Melody Lane'' (1929) (play) * '' New York Town'' (1941) (story)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swerling, Jo 1897 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American songwriters American lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists American male screenwriters Tony Award winners People from the Lower East Side American male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Palm Springs, California Songwriters from New York (state) Jewish American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews