Erna Lazarus (June 16, 1903Massachusetts, Birth Records, 1840–1915 – February 19, 2006) was a screen and television writer from the 1930s through the 1960s. Lazarus, born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, was one of the founding members of the Screen Writers Guild. On her death, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' credited her as "one of the first female screenwriters working steadily in the studio system." She also had an influential role in the formation of the Interguild Federal Credit Union. Lazarus died on February 19, 2006, in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

, at the age of 102.

Selected filmography

* ''

Hollywood or Bust ''Hollywood or Bust'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis alongside Pat Crowley and Anita Ekberg. The picture was filmed from April 16 to June 19, 1956, and re ...

'' (the last film featuring

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

and

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

) – sole story and screen play * ''Flareup'' (starring Raquel Welch) – associate producer * ''

Meet Me After the Show ''Meet Me After the Show'' is a 1951 Technicolor musical film starring Betty Grable and released through 20th Century Fox. The film was one of Grable's last musical films for Fox during her box office reign of the past decade. Plot Delilah Lee ...

'' (starring Betty Grable) – original story * ''

Moonlight in Hawaii ''Moonlight in Hawaii'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Jane Frazee, Johnny Downs and Leon Errol. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. Future star Maria Montez has a small role, wit ...

'' * ''Double Date'' * '' Atlantic Flight'' * '' Let's Go Steady'' * ''

The Girl of the Limberlost ''The Girl of the Limberlost'' is a 1945 American drama film starring Ruth Nelson, Dorinda Clifton, and Loren Tindall, and directed by Mel Ferrer. The film is based on a 1909 novel by Gene Stratton-Porter, which was previously filmed in 1909 as ...

'' (1945) * '' Slightly Scandalous'' (1946)

Selected radio writing

* '' Mayor of the Town''

Selected TV writing

* ''

Racket Squad ''Racket Squad'' is an American TV crime drama series that aired from 1951 to 1953. The format was a narrated anthology drama, as each individual episode featured various ordinary citizens getting ensnared in a different confidence scheme. Ep ...

'' * '' Mr. and Mrs. North'' * ''

Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, an ...

'' * ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

'' * ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...

'' * ''

Surfside Six ''Surfside 6'' is an ABC television series that aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centers on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat, and features Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield II, Van Williams as Kenny Madison (a character recycled ...

References

External links

* 1903 births 2006 deaths American women centenarians American television writers American women screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women {{US-screen-writer-1900s-stub