Jake W. Ehrlich (October 15, 1900 – December 24, 1971) was an American lawyer and writer.

Biography

Ehrlich was born near Rockville,

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

. He earned a law degree and later a doctorate at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. He married Marjorie Mercer on June 30, 1920. Known as "the Master", Ehrlich had a 50-year career as a defense and divorce attorney in San Francisco. He was an early example of a "celebrity lawyer", with a talent for publicity as well as legal expertise. He wrote a dozen books, on such subjects as the law, the Bible, and his own life story. He was the model for television lawyer ''

Sam Benedict ''Sam Benedict'' is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The series was created and executive produced by E. Jack Neuman, and produced by William Froug. The series starred Edmond O'Brien in the title role ...

'', portrayed by

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (; September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor of stage, screen, and television, and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on th ...

in the early 1960s, and Ehrlich was the series' technical adviser.Erickson, Hal (2008).
Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948–2008
'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 242. . In the 1950s, Ehrlich had coached actor

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor who had a lengthy Hollywood film career and portrayed the title roles in the television dramas '' Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career inclu ...

when Burr was preparing to play trial attorney and sleuth

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

on television. Some writers contend that Ehrlich was the actual inspiration for the Perry Mason character, who first appeared in novels in 1933, when Ehrlich was a young attorney. But Mason's creator,

Erle Stanley Gardner Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was an American author and lawyer, best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories. Gardner also wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces as well as a series of no ...

— whose own legal career bore similarities to Ehrlich's — did not make any such statement. For much of his career, Ehrlich was lead attorney for the San Francisco Police Officer's Association. Ehrlich defended prostitutes and police officers during the 1937 Grand Jury proceedings initiated by the work of

Edwin Atherton Edwin Newton Atherton (October 12, 1896 – August 31, 1944) served as a foreign service officer, Bureau of Investigation agent, private investigator, and later, appointed head of the college athletics organization, the Pacific Coast Conference ...

, hired by the San Francisco DA to investigate police malfeasance. Ehrlich's slogan was "Never Plead Guilty." His celebrity clients include actors, writers, night club entertainers, directors, musicians, sports figures, industrialists, madames, murderers, bigamists and petty crooks. Included in his client list were

Alexander Pantages Alexander Pantages (, ''Periklis Alexandros Padazis''; 1867 – February 17, 1936) was a Greek American vaudeville impresario and early film producer, motion picture producer. He created a large and powerful circuit of theatres across the Weste ...

for statutory rape,

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

for

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

,Noble, John Wesley; Averbuch, Bernard (1955). ''Never Plead Guilty; The Story of Jake Ehrlich''. New York: Farrar, Straus and Kudahy. pp.&nbs
vvi
as well as

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

and

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

for divorce,

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

for the movie ''

The Outlaw ''The Outlaw'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, removing original director Howard Hawks and replacing origi ...

'', and Gertrude Morris for murdering her husband in 1952. He also defended rapist

Caryl Chessman Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper, serial rapist, and writer who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 ...

and stripper

Sally Rand Sally Rand (born Helen Gould Beck; April 3, 1904 – August 31, 1979) was an American burlesque dancer, stripper, vedette, and actress, famous for her ostrich-feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name B ...

. In 1957, he was lead attorney for

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and ...

, proprietor of

City Lights Books City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected ...

along with L. Speiser and

Al Bendich Albert Morris Bendich (June 18, 1929 – January 5, 2015) was a professor of rhetoric at UC Berkeley, active during the Free Speech Movement (1964-1965), as well as a civil rights attorney, noted for his roles in defending the free speech right ...

, defending the sale of

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

's book ''

Howl and Other Poems ''Howl and Other Poems'' is a collection of poetry by Allen Ginsberg published November 1, 1956. It contains Ginsberg's most famous poem, " Howl", which is considered to be one of the principal works of the Beat Generation as well as " A Super ...

'' in the obscenity trial. In the 2010 feature film ''

Howl Howl most often refers to: * Howling, an animal vocalization in many canine species * "Howl" (poem), a 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg Howl or The Howl may also refer to: Film * '' The Howl'', a 1970 Italian film * ''Howl'' (2010 film), a 2010 Am ...

'', Ehrlich is played by actor

Jon Hamm Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and tw ...

. In another connection to the world of entertainment, Ehrlich was father-in-law to famed recording star

Guy Cherney Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unincor ...

.Parsons, Louella O. (July 15, 1953)
"Hollywood: Stage Star in Films; Sentimental Story"
''The Waterloo Courier''. p. 14. Retrieved February 26, 2023. The residence Ehrlich designed with a sliding glass roof at the top of Camino Alto Road in Marin County, in Northern California, was later owned by rock promoter Bill Graham. Ehrlich loved to tell people visiting his home that the electronic roof was actually powered by clients who were unable to pay their legal bills.

Works

* ''Ehrlich's Blackstone'' * ''Howl of the Censor'' () * ''Ehrlich's Criminal Law'' * ''Criminal Evidence'' * ''The Educated Lawyer'' * ''What is Wrong with the Jury System'' * ''The Lost Art of Cross Examination'' () * ''Trial of The Contested Divorce Case'' * ''The Holy Bible and The Law'' () * ''A Reasonable doubt'' * ''A Life in My Hands'' – autobiography **Philip Zimet, A Life In My Hands. By Jacob W. Ehrlich, 3 San Diego L. Rev. 139 (1966). **https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol3/iss1/17/ **https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2481&context=sdlr * ''A Conflict of Interest'' – with B. Williams * ''Howl of the Censor'' – editor ()

References

External links

Jake Ehrlich Memorial page

Jake Ehrlich Sr. on The Tonight Show 1964 Starring Johnny Carson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrlich, Jake 1900 births 1971 deaths Lawyers from San Francisco 20th-century American lawyers People from Rockville, Maryland Georgetown University Law Center alumni Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery (Colma, California)