Irving Dover Ravetch (November 14, 1920 – September 19, 2010) was an American screenwriter and film producer who frequently collaborated with his wife Harriet Frank Jr.

Life and career

Ravetch was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

familyUniversity of California Press: "Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr.: Tapestry of Life" Interview by Pat McGilligan
/ref> in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, the son of Sylvia (Shapiro) and I. Shalom Ravetch, a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. His mother was born in Palestine and his father in the Ukraine. Ravetch was an aspiring playwright when he enrolled at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. Following graduation, he joined the young writer's training program at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

, where he met Harriet Frank Jr., whom he married in 1946.Baer, William, ''Classic American Films: Conversations with the Screenwriters''. Greenwood Publishing Group 2008. , pp. 95–109 He gained his first screen credit with ''

Living in a Big Way ''Living in a Big Way'' (1947) is an American musical comedy film starring Gene Kelly and Marie McDonald as a couple who marry during World War II after only knowing each other a short time. This was director Gregory La Cava's final film. Pl ...

'' which was released the following year. For the next decade, Ravetch worked mostly on

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

such as ''

Vengeance Valley ''Vengeance Valley'' is a 1951 American Technicolor Western film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Burt Lancaster, with a supporting cast featuring Robert Walker, Joanne Dru, Sally Forrest, John Ireland and Ray Collins. It is based on t ...

'' (1951). With Frank, he approached producer

Jerry Wald Jerome Irving Wald (September 16, 1911 – July 13, 1962) was an American screenwriter and a producer of films and radio programs. Life and career Early life Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were ac ...

and proposed they adapt the

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most ...

novel ''

The Hamlet ''The Hamlet'' is a novel by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1940, about the fictional Snopes family of Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by ...

'' (1940) for the screen. The result was ''

The Long, Hot Summer ''The Long, Hot Summer'' is a 1958 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt. The screenplay was written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr., based in part on three works by William Faulkner: the 1931 novella "Spotted Horses", the 1939 s ...

'' (1958), which primarily was an original story with one of Faulkner's characters at its center. When Wald

greenlight To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...

ed the film and asked Ravetch to choose a director, he suggested

Martin Ritt Martin Ritt (March 2, 1914 – December 8, 1990) was an American director and actor who worked in both film and theater, noted for his socially conscious films. Some of the films he directed include '' The Long, Hot Summer'' (1958), '' The Black ...

, whom he knew from the Group Theatre and the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...

in New York City. ''The Long, Hot Summer'' proved to be the first of eight projects – including ''

The Sound and the Fury ''The Sound and the Fury'' is a novel by the American author William Faulkner. It employs several narrative styles, including stream of consciousness. Published in 1929, ''The Sound and the Fury'' was Faulkner's fourth novel, and was not imme ...

'' (1959), ''

Hud Hud or HUD may refer to: Entertainment * Hud (1963 film), ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman * Hud (1986 film), ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film * HUD (TV program), ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadi ...

'' (1963), ''

Norma Rae ''Norma Rae'' is a 1979 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton— which was told in the 1975 book ''Crystal Lee, a ...

'' (1979), ''

Murphy's Romance ''Murphy's Romance'' is a 1985 American romantic-comedy film directed by Martin Ritt. The screenplay by Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch was based on the 1980 novella by Max Schott. The film stars Sally Field, James Garner, Brian Kerwin, an ...

'' (1985), and ''

Stanley & Iris ''Stanley & Iris'' is a 1990 American romantic drama film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro. The screenplay by Harriet Frank, Jr. and Irving Ravetch is loosely based on the 1982 novel ''Union Street'' by Pat Bark ...

'' (1990) – written by Ravetch and Frank and directed by Ritt. Additional screenwriting credits include '' Home from the Hill'' (1960), ''

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs ''The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' is a 1957 play by William Inge about family conflicts during the early 1920s in a small Oklahoma town. It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 1958 and was made into a film of the same name in 19 ...

'' (also 1960), ''

The Reivers ''The Reivers: A Reminiscence'', published in 1962, is the last novel by the American author William Faulkner. The bestselling novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1963. Faulkner previously won this award for his book ''A Fable'', ...

'' (1969), ''

The Cowboys ''The Cowboys'' is a 1972 American Western film starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bruce Dern, and featuring Colleen Dewhurst and Slim Pickens. It was the feature film debut of Robert Carradine. Based on the 1971 novel of the same nam ...

'' (1972), and ''

The Spikes Gang ''The Spikes Gang'' is a 1974 American Western film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Lee Marvin. Produced by the Mirisch Company and based on the novel ''The Bank Robber'' by Giles Tippette, the supporting cast features Gary Grimes, ...

'' (1974). Ravetch and Frank were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, music ...

and won both the

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay is an annual film award given by the New York Film Critics Circle The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is an American film critic organization founded in 1935 by Wanda Hale from the ...

and the

Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the three screenwriting Writers Guild of America Awards, focused specifically for film. The Writers Guild of America began making the distinction between an original screenpl ...

for ''Hud''. He was a recipient of the

Bronze Wrangler The Bronze Wrangler is an award presented annually by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to honor the top works in Western music, film, television and literature. The awards were first presented in 1961. The Wrangler is a bronze sculp ...

for ''The Cowboys'', the Screen Laurel Award, and additional Oscar, WGA, and Golden Globe nominations. Ravetch died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on September 19, 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravetch, Irving 1920 births 2010 deaths American male screenwriters Film producers from New Jersey Jewish American screenwriters Writers Guild of America Award winners University of California, Los Angeles alumni Writers from Newark, New Jersey Deaths from pneumonia in California Screenwriters from New Jersey American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American people of Palestinian-Jewish descent 21st-century American Jews