Raymond Abrashkin (March 9, 1911 – August 25, 1960) was an American writer and filmmaker. He is known for writing, co-producing, and co-directing '' Little Fugitive'' and for co-creating and co-writing with Jay Williams the '' Danny Dunn'' series of science fiction books for children. He also wrote the story "Little Cowboy" (1948).

Family

Raymond's parents were Harry Abrashkin, born in what is now

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul, Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and Bertha Kornfeld, born in England. Raymond was born in

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

. He graduated from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

and taught in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

public schools. His writing career began as the education editor of ''PM Newspaper''. He became the principal writer for Young People's Records. He wrote the syndicated comic strip ''Timmy'', drawn by Howard Sparber. Around 1935, he married Evelyn Kurinski. They had two children, John Michael (West) Abrashkin, an artist (1941–1992), and William Henry (Hank) Abrashkin, a Trial Court Judge in Massachusetts (b. 1944). There are two grandchildren, Karen Anna Abrashkin (b. 1981) and John Raymond Abrashkin (b. 1983). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Abrashkin served in the

United States Maritime Service The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 as voluntary training organization to train individuals to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the ...

on supply ships in the Atlantic. During and after the war, he lived in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, New York. In 1951 he and his family moved to a converted barn in

Weston, Connecticut Weston ( ) is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and had the highest median income in the state of Connecticut. The town is part of the ...

, where he lived for the remainder of his life.

''Little Fugitive''

In 1952, Abrashkin wrote the screenplay for '' Little Fugitive'' under the name "Ray Ashley", which he co-produced and co-directed with Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin. The movie, which came out in 1953, was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, and won acclaim and praise from

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

as setting the stage for the

French New Wave The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French European art cinema, art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentat ...

movement. While working on the movie at

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

, Abrashkin was stricken with

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

(ALS, also known as

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and lo ...

), from which he died, aged 49.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abrashkin, Raymond 1911 births 1960 deaths American people of Ukrainian descent American people of English descent 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American children's writers American male novelists Danny Dunn American science fiction writers United States Merchant Mariners of World War II Writers from Brooklyn Novelists from Connecticut Deaths from motor neuron disease in the United States Neurological disease deaths in Connecticut People from Weston, Connecticut Novelists from New York (state)