Jake W. Ehrlich (October 15, 1900 – December 24, 1971) was an American lawyer and writer.

Biography

Ehrlich was born near Rockville,

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

. He earned a law degree and later a doctorate at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

. He married Marjorie Mercer on June 30, 1920. Known as "the Master", Ehrlich had a 50-year career as a defense and divorce attorney in San Francisco. He was an early example of a "celebrity lawyer", with a talent for publicity as well as legal expertise. He wrote a dozen books, on such subjects as the law, the Bible, and his own life story. He was the model for television lawyer ''

Sam Benedict ''Sam Benedict'' is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The series was created and executive produced by E. Jack Neuman. The character Sam Benedict is based on real-life lawyer Jake Ehrlich, who served as t ...

'', portrayed by

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

in the early 1960s, and Ehrlich was the series' technical adviser. In the 1950s, Ehrlich had coached actor

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas '' Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

when Burr was preparing to play trial attorney and sleuth

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

on television. Some writers contend that Ehrlich was the actual inspiration for the Perry Mason character, who first appeared in novels in 1933, when Ehrlich was a young attorney. But Mason's creator, Erle Stanley Gardner — whose own legal career bore similarities to Ehrlich's — did not make any such statement. For much of his career, Ehrlich was lead attorney for the San Francisco Police Officer's Association. Ehrlich defended prostitutes and police officers during the 1937 Grand Jury proceedings initiated by the work of

Edwin Atherton Edwin Newton Atherton (October 12, 1896 – August 31, 1944) served as a foreign service officer, Bureau of Investigation agent, private investigator, and later, appointed head of the college athletics organization, the Pacific Coast Conference i ...

, hired by the San Francisco DA to investigate police malfeasance. Ehrlich's slogan was "Never Plead Guilty."Never Plead Guilty
Google Books His celebrity clients include actors, writers, night club entertainers, directors, musicians, sports figures, industrialists, madames, murderers, bigamists and petty crooks. Included in his client list were;

Alexander Pantages Alexander Pantages (Περικλῆς Ἀλέξανδρος Πανταζής , ''Periklis Alexandros Padazis''; 1867 – February 17, 1936) was a Greek American vaudeville impresario and early motion picture producer. He created a large and p ...

for statutory rape,

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of " Sing, Sing, ...

for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

for

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, freque ...

and

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

for divorce,

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...

for the movie ''

The Outlaw ''The Outlaw'' is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director. Th ...

'', and Gertrude Morris for murdering her husband in 1952. He also defended rapist

Caryl Chessman Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper and serial rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 counts ...

and stripper

Sally Rand Sally Rand (born Helen Gould Beck; April 3, 1904 – August 31, 1979) was an American burlesque dancer, vedette, and actress, famous for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name Billie Beck. ...

. In 1957, he was lead attorney for

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. The author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, an ...

, proprietor of

City Lights Books City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected ti ...

along with L. Speiser and

Al Bendich Albert Morris Bendich (June 18, 1929 – January 5, 2015) was a professor of rhetoric at UC Berkeley, active during the Free Speech Movement (1964-1965), as well as a civil rights attorney, noted for his roles in defending the free speech right ...

, defending the sale of

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

's book '' Howl and Other Poems'' in the obscenity trial. In the 2010 feature film '' Howl'', Ehrlich is played by actor

Jon Hamm Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama television series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Televis ...

. In another connection to the world of entertainment, Ehrlich was father-in-law to famed recording star

Guy Cherney Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an uninco ...

. The residence Ehrlich designed with a sliding glass roof at the top of Camino Alto Road in Marin County, in Northern California, was later owned by rock promoter Bill Graham. Ehrlich loved to tell people visiting his home that the electronic roof was actually powered by clients who were unable to pay their legal bills.

Bibliography

Books authored: * ''Ehrlich's Blackstone'' * ''Howl of the Censor'' () * ''Ehrlich's Criminal Law'' * ''Criminal Evidence'' * ''The Educated Lawyer'' * ''What is Wrong with the Jury System'' * ''The Lost Art of Cross Examination'' () * ''Trial of The Contested Divorce Case'' * ''The Holy Bible and The Law'' () * ''A Reasonable doubt'' * ''A Life in My Hands'' – autobiography * ''A Conflict of Interest'' – with B. Williams * ''Howl of the Censor'' – editor ()

References

External links

Jake Ehrlich Memorial page

Jake Ehrlich Sr. on The Tonight Show 1964 Starring Johnny Carson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrlich, Jake 1900 births 1971 deaths Lawyers from San Francisco 20th-century American lawyers People from Rockville, Maryland Georgetown University Law Center alumni Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery (Colma, California)