Elwood Ullman (May 27, 1903 — October 11, 1985) was an American film comedy writer most famous for his credits on
The Three Stooges shorts and many other low-budget comedies.
Career
A native of
Memphis, Tennessee, Ullman chose a writing career, supplying humorous articles for magazines in the 1930s. He submitted script ideas to
Columbia Pictures, and the studio assigned him to the short-subject department. Producer
Jules White
Jules White (born Julius Weiss; hu, Weisz Gyula; 17 September 190030 April 1985) was a Hungarian-American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges
Early years
White began working in mo ...
teamed Ullman with Al Giebler, a former sight-gag writer for
Mack Sennett 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 film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
,
Charley Chase,
Harry Langdon, and
Hugh Herbert.
Ullman worked closely with Columbia producer
Hugh McCollum and writer-director
Edward Bernds until McCollum and Bernds left the studio in 1952. Bernds then became a writer-director for
The Bowery Boys, and hired Ullman to write for the popular feature-length comedies.
Ullman and Bernds were nominated for an
Oscar in 1955 for the film ''
High Society''. 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, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
-
Grace Kelly 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'' and ''
The Three Stooges in Orbit''.
[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 in
Hollywood, California 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