John Pascal (July 8, 1932 – January 7, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter, author, and journalist.

Education

John Robert Pascal was born on July 8, 1932, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. He received his journalism degree at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Career

Pascal was a playwright and screenwriter. His works included collaboration on the book for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical ''

George M! ''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Franci ...

'', which was also released on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, and on scripts for the

ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime television programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap o ...

soap opera ''

The Young Marrieds ''The Young Marrieds'' is an American daytime soap opera which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 5, 1964 to March 25, 1966. The program was created by James Elward and written by Elward with Frances Rickett. Authors John ...

''. With his second wife, Pascal worked on various projects including ''The Young Marrieds'' and ''The Strange Case of Patty Hearst''. The Pascals also worked with Ms. Pascal's brother, Broadway playwright and librettist Michael Stewart, writing the book for ''George M!'' Pascal was a novelist, as well, authoring such books as ''The Strange Case of

Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is an American actress and member of the Hearst family. She is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 197 ...

'', ''The

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

Story'', and ''

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

: The Complete Story of Her Life, Her Loves and Her Death''. Early in his career, he worked as a journalist and an editor for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. He later developed and wrote a weekly Sunday column for New York's ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', which ran until his death.

Personal life

His first wife was poet Donna J. Stone, with whom he had a son, Matthew. He later married children's author

Francine Pascal Francine Paula Pascal (''née'' Rubin, May 13, 1932 – July 28, 2024) was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. ''Sweet Valley High,'' the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, ...

Death

Pascal died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on January 7, 1981.

References

* ''George M!'' (Book by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal: Tams-Witmark, 1968; National Broadcasting Co., 1970) * ''The Strange Case of Patty Hearst'' (John Pascal and Francine Pascal: Signet Books, 1974) * ''The Jean Harlow Story'' (John Pascal: Popular Library, 1964) * ''Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Story of Her Life, Her Loves and Her Death'' (John Pascal: Popular Library, 1962) * ''The Young Marrieds'' (John Pascal and Francine Pascal: American Broadcasting Co., 1964–1966) * ''The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature'' (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005) * ''The New York Times Obituary: John R. Pascal'' (The New York Times Co., 1981) * ''Newsday Obituary: John Robert Pascal'' (Newsday, LLC, 1981)

External links

Internet Broadway Database: ''George M!''

Internet Movie Database: ''George M!''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal, John 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters American soap opera writers American columnists Journalists from New York City 1932 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male television writers American television writers American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters