Fanya Foss (sometimes credited as Fanya Lawrence or F.A. Foss, October 4, 1906 – December 12, 1995) was a Russian-born American screenwriter, short story writer, and television writer active in Hollywood during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. She was married to actor-filmmaker

Marc Lawrence Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence. Early life Lawrence w ...

, with whom she had a daughter, actress Toni Lawrence (ex-wife of

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker, singer and songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing and starring in the independent film, independent Drama (film and television), drama f ...

), and a son, artist Michael Lawrence.

Biography

Fanya was born into a Jewish family in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, in 1906, and moved to New York City with her family when she was a year old. Against her parents' wishes, she married her first husband, the writer

Edward Dahlberg Edward Dahlberg (July 22, 1900 – February 27, 1977) was an American novelist, essayist, and autobiographer. Background Edward Dahlberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Elizabeth Dahlberg. Together, mother and son led a vagabond existence ...

, while she was only 17; that marriage would end in divorce. As a talented young singer, she won a scholarship to

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

and toured Paris. She later married Gordon Kingman (this marriage also ended). She returned to New York City and took a position as a librarian at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

before she began working at ''

The Brooklyn Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'' as a reporter and then became an editor at a publishing house, where she specialized in travel books. Her stint as a literary editor led her to some travels of her own; she left NYC with $25, determined to see the country. During this trip, she ended up working in various bookstores and art shops; while on the road, she learned one of her mystery thriller scripts had sold to

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

. She met character actor Marc Lawrence while working in Hollywood; the pair were married in Las Vegas in 1942. After the 1940s, she concentrated primarily on writing television, although she did collaborate with her husband on films like 1965's ''

Nightmare in the Sun ''Nightmare in the Sun'' is a 1965 drama film directed by Marc Lawrence in his feature theatrical directing debut. It stars Ursula Andress, John Derek, and Aldo Ray, with a cameo appearance by Sammy Davis Jr. and an early role of Robert Duvall. ...

'' and 1973's ''

Pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

''. The pair lived in Rome in the 1950s to avoid the Hollywood blacklist. Fanya was a member of the

Screen Writers Guild The Screen Writers Guild was an organization of Hollywood screenplay authors, formed as a union in 1933. A rival organisation, Screen Playwrights, Inc., was established by the AMPP, film studios and producers, but after an appeal to the National ...

. She died in Palm Springs, California, on December 12, 1995.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1972) * ''

'' (1965) * '' Why Girls Leave Home'' (1945) * '' Hi Ya, Sailor'' (1943) * ''

The Stork Pays Off ''The Stork Pays Off'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Lew Landers and starring Victor Jory, Rochelle Hudson, Maxie Rosenbloom, Horace McMahon, George McKay and Ralf Harolde. The screenplay was written by Fanya Foss and Aleen Leslie. ...

'' (1941) * ''

The Richest Man in Town ''The Richest Man in Town'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton and starring Frank Craven, Edgar Buchanan and Roger Pryor.Fetrow p.403 It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Plot In a small town bank manag ...

'' (1941) * ''

Affectionately Yours ''Affectionately Yours'' is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Merle Oberon, Dennis Morgan, and Rita Hayworth. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. Bette Davis was originally intended for ...

'' (1941) * ''

Girls Under 21 ''Girls Under 21'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Max Nosseck, starring Bruce Cabot and Rochelle Hudson. Plot Frances White from the slums, escapes the tenements by marrying rich gangster Smiley Ryan. Cast * Bruce Cabot as Smiley Ry ...

'' (1940)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foss, Fanya 1906 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American women screenwriters Columbia University librarians Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American short story writers Jewish American television writers American television writers Jewish women writers