Inez Asher (née Inez Harriett Silverberg; January 1, 1911 – May 8, 2006) was a novelist and television writer.
Early years
Inez Asher was the only child of Minor Silverberg, a
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
real estate agent, and Edna Harris Silverberg. When Asher was six years old, General
Frederick Funston
Frederick Funston (November 9, 1865 – February 19, 1917), also known as Fighting Fred Funston, was a General officer, general in the United States Army, best known for his roles in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American ...
was holding her in his arms as he collapsed and died from a heart attack in the lobby of
The St. Anthony Hotel in
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. Asher was a member of the class of 1928,
Theodore Roosevelt High School, attended
Miss Orton's Classical School for Girls and UCLA; she was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
in her junior year.
Radio and television writer
Asher co-wrote the episode "Robert E. Lee" for the ''Famous Children of History'' radio program. With Emilie Roberts, Asher composed a short lecture, "Irene Talking."
Asher wrote "The Last Orchid", the first episode of the Philco Players television program (1948). Asher wrote for
the 1954 televised series of ''Lassie''. and co-wrote "Welcome to Washington," an unsold
television pilot
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
for the proposed series ''The Claudette Colbert Show'' which aired as an episode of the
anthology series
An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...
''
Colgate Theatre ''Colgate Theatre'' may refer to:
* ''Colgate Theatre'' (1949 TV series), an American live dramatic anthology television series broadcast on NBC from 1949 to 1950
* ''Colgate Theatre'' (1958 TV series), an American anthology television series ...
'' in 1958.
Political
Like many Hollywood writers of the 1930s, Asher was singled out for her left-wing views. In 1934 she was listed in
Elizabeth Dilling's self-published ''The red network; a "who's who" and handbook of radicalism for patriots.''
Novelist and poet
Asher published one novel, ''Family Sins'' (
Pinnacle Books, New York 1983), the story of an American widow who travels to the Orient in pursuit of a Korean orphan and ends up in the arms of a handsome but married Japanese doctor. Asher was co-author (with illustrator Alice Rovinsky) of two illustrated books of verse: ''Look at Me! A See Yourself Book for Boys'' and ''Look at Me! A See Yourself Book for Girls'' (
Garden City Books, Garden City, New York 1951). Parents would paste a child's photo in the designated spot inside the back cover and as the child turned the pages he would see his face, through a hole cut in each page, in all the people he wanted to be: pilot, railroad conductor, etc. "Look at me, and you will see, all the things I'd like to be. If I were a fireman brave, Folks in danger I would save!" or "To be a cowboy, Bronco Bill, That would give me such a thrill!" ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' called the books "A delightful novelty."
Personal
Asher was married to Alvin Asher, an attorney for
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
, and to James Marvin Hirsch.
Later years
Asher worked as a coordinator in the International Student Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.
[Stefan Congrat-Butlar. ''Translation & translators: an international directory and guide''. R. R. Bowker Co., 1979 p 94] She died in Yonkers, New York.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asher, Inez
American women television writers
Television writers from California
American women novelists
Writers from Los Angeles
American children's writers
Writers from Des Moines, Iowa
1911 births
2006 deaths
American women children's writers
American women dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American women writers
Novelists from Iowa
Screenwriters from Iowa
20th-century American screenwriters
Theodore Roosevelt High School (Iowa) alumni
21st-century American women writers
Burials at Home of Peace Cemetery