Jo Swerling (April 8, 1897 – October 23, 1964) was an American theatre writer, lyricist, and screenwriter.

Early life and early career

Born Joseph Swerling in Berdichev, Ukraine, Swerling was one of a number of Jewish refugees from the Tsarist regime. He grew up on New York City's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

, where he sold newspapers to help support his family. He worked as a newspaper and magazine writer in the early 1920s. He wrote the Marx Brothers' ''The Cinderella Girls'', which was a failure, and he also wrote their first movie, the unreleased silent comedy short film '' Humor Risk'' (1921). He scored a major success with the book and lyrics for the musical revue ''The New Yorkers'' (1927) and the play ''The Kibitzer'' (1929), the latter co-written with actor Edward G. Robinson.

In Hollywood

Swerling was brought to Hollywood by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

chief

Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His fath ...

to work on the screenplay for

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

's '' Ladies of Leisure'' (1930), the first of several collaborations with the director. His dozens of screenplays in the 1930s and 1940s include '' Platinum Blonde,'' '' Behind the Mask,'' '' Once to Every Woman,'' '' The Pride of the Yankees'' (for which he received an Academy Award nomination), '' Lifeboat,'' ''

Leave Her to Heaven ''Leave Her to Heaven'' is a 1945 American film directed by John M. Stahl, starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, and Vincent Price. Adapted by screenwriter Jo Swerling from the 1944 novel of the same name by Ben Ames Williams, the ...

,'' and '' It's a Wonderful Life.'' He also provided some uncredited writing for ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

''.

Back to Broadway

Swerling returned to Broadway in 1950 to write the book for ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

''. The book received a comprehensive rewrite from Abraham "Abe" Burrows, though the songs had been written with Swerling's book in mind, and both writers were credited. The book would go on to win the 1951

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

and New York Drama Critics' Circle Award.

Personal

Swerling was the father of Peter Swerling, the world's leading radar theoretician of the second half of the 20th century, and Jo Swerling Jr., producer of such television series as ''

Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western television series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel (and, after Duel's death, Roger Davis) as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy ...

,'' ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner, aired on NBC from September 13, 1974, to January 10, 1980. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator Jim Rockford, with Noah Beery Jr. in th ...

,'' ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...

,'' '' The Greatest American Hero,'' ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

,'' and ''

Profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

.'' Swerling maintained a condo in the Golf Club Estates neighborhood of

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

Partial filmography

;As screenwriter * '' Humor Risk'' (short, 1921) * '' Miss Nobody'' (story, 1926) * '' Around the Corner'' (1930) * ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

'' (1930) * '' Hell's Island'' (1930) * '' Ladies Must Play'' (1930) * '' Rain or Shine'' (1930) * '' The Squealer'' (1930) * '' Ladies of Leisure'' (1930) * '' Madonna of the Streets'' (1930) * ''

Dirigible An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat ( lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding ...

'' (1931) * '' The Miracle Woman'' (1931) * '' Last Parade'' (1931) * '' Ten Cents a Dance'' (1931) * '' Carne de Cabaret'' (1931) * '' The Good Bad Girl'' (1931) * '' The Deceiver'' (1931) * '' Platinum Blonde'' (1931) * '' Forbidden'' (1932) * '' Shopworn'' (1932) * '' Hollywood Speaks'' (1932) * ''

War Correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

'' (1932) * '' Washington Merry-Go-Round'' (1932) * '' Man Against Woman'' (1932) * '' Behind the Mask'' (1932) * '' Love Affair'' (1932) * '' Attorney for the Defense'' (1932) * '' As the Devil Commands'' (1932) * '' The Circus Queen Murder'' (1933) * '' Below the Sea'' (1933) * '' As the Devil Commands'' (1933) * '' The Wrecker'' (1933) * '' East of Fifth Avenue'' (1933) * '' Man's Castle'' (1933) * '' The Woman I Stole'' (1933) * '' No Greater Glory'' (1934) * '' Sisters Under the Skin'' (1934) * '' The Defense Rests'' (1934) * '' Lady by Choice'' (1934) * '' Once to Every Woman'' (1934) * '' Love Me Forever'' (1935) * '' The Whole Town's Talking'' (1935) * '' The Music Goes 'Round'' (1936) * '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1936) * '' Double Wedding'' (1937) * '' Dr. Rhythm'' (1938) * '' I Am the Law'' (1938) * '' Made for Each Other'' (1939) * '' The Real Glory'' (1939) * ''

'' (1939) (not credited) * '' The Westerner'' (1940) * '' Blood and Sand'' (1941) * '' Confirm or Deny'' (1941) * '' The Pride of the Yankees'' (1942) * '' Crash Dive'' (1943) * '' A Lady Takes a Chance'' (1943) * '' Lifeboat'' (1944) * ''

'' (1945) * '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) (uncredited) * '' Thunder in the East'' (1952) * ''

'' (1955) * '' The Big Bankroll'' (1961) * '' King of the Roaring Twenties'' (1961) ;Other * '' Melody Lane'' (1929) (play) * '' New York Town'' (1941) (story)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swerling, Jo 1897 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American songwriters American lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists American male screenwriters Tony Award winners People from the Lower East Side American male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Palm Springs, California Songwriters from New York (state) Jewish American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American songwriters