Stanley Shapiro (July 16, 1925 – July 21, 1990) was an American screenwriter and producer responsible for three of

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

's most successful films. Born 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, Shapiro earned his first screen credit for ''South Sea Woman'' in 1953. His work for Day earned him Oscar nominations for ''

Lover Come Back Lover Come Back may refer to: *''Lover Come Back'', a 1940 novel by Clair Blank *Lover Come Back (1931 film), ''Lover Come Back'' (1931 film), starring Constance Cummings *New Moon (1940 film), ''New Moon'' (1940 film), a musical also known as ''Lov ...

'' and '' That Touch of Mink'' and a win for '' Pillow Talk'', and ''Mink'' won him the

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

for Best Written American Comedy, which he shared with his partner Nate Monaster.

Life and career

Shapiro was born and raised in Brooklyn. He was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He dropped out of

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

and began selling jokes to comedians. He eventually wrote for

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist topically-pointed radio program '' The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forw ...

on radio and then for George Burns and Gracie Allen. He followed Burns and Allen to Hollywood and worked on their television show. He produced the first season of

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (; January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and stage performer (particularly musical theater) who started his movie career in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major B ...

's ABC sitcom, '' Where's Raymond?'', and was replaced in the second season by

Paul Henning Paul William Henning (September 16, 1911 – March 25, 2005) was an American TV producer and screenwriter. Most famous for creating the television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', he was also crucial in developing the "rural" comedies ''Pet ...

, as the series was renamed '' The Ray Bolger Show''. Additional writing credits include '' Operation Petticoat'', '' Come September'', '' Bedtime Story'', '' Me, Natalie'', '' For Pete's Sake'', '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'', and ''

Carbon Copy Before the development of photographic copiers, a carbon copy was the under-copy of a typed or written document placed over carbon paper and the under-copy sheet itself (not to be confused with the carbon print family of photographic reproduc ...

''. "Although I find social institutions, manners, customs and prejudices a bit ridiculous, I do not regard them as a satirist", he told an interviewer in 1962. "I am a humorist. Will Rogers was a satirist, Laurel and Hardy were humorists. Believe me, humor is much harder to write. It was a lot easier for Will Rogers to get a laugh by doing a pun about the Government than it was for Laurel and Hardy to figure out a routine on how to move a piano manually from the basement to the fifth floor." Shapiro's last project was the television movie ''Running Against Time'', based on his novel ''A Time to Remember''. Broadcast four months after his death from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

in Los Angeles, it was dedicated to his memory. Shapiro died on July 21, 1990, five days after his 65th birthday.

Select credits

*''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', is a half-hour television sitcom broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in entertainm ...

'' (1950) (TV series) – pilot – writer *'' South Sea Woman'' (1953) – writer *'' Where's Raymond?'' (1954–55) (TV series) – writer, producer *'' Hey, Jeannie!'' (1956–57) (TV series) – writer *'' Strictly for Pleasure'' (1958) – writer *'' The Real McCoys'' (1958) (TV series) – writer *'' Pillow Talk'' (1959) – writer *'' Operation Petticoat'' (1959) – writer *'' McGarry and His Mouse'' (1960) (TV movie) – writer, producer *'' The Tab Hunter Show'' (1960–61) – creator, producer *'' Come September'' (1961) – writer *''

'' (1961) – writer, producer *'' That Touch of Mink'' (1962) – writer, producer *'' The Comedy Spot (TV series)'' (1962) (TV series) – episode "For the Love of Mike" *'' Bedtime Story'' (1964) – writer, producer *'' A Very Special Favor'' (1965) – writer, producer *''

How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...

'' (1968) – writer, producer *'' Me, Natalie'' (1969) – writer, producer *'' For Pete's Sake'' (1974) – writer, producer *'' The Best of Times'' (1974) (TV movie) *''

The Seniors ''The Seniors'' (sometimes ''The Senior'' or simply ''Seniors'') is a 1978 American comedy film about four college seniors who open a bogus sex clinic, which unexpectedly mushrooms into a multimillion-dollar business. Directed by Rod Amateau, ...

'' (1978) – writer, producer *''

'' (1981) – writer, producer *'' The Ferret'' (1984) (TV movie) *'' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (1988) *'' Running Against Time'' (1990) (TV movie) (book "A Time to Remember") / (teleplay) *'' The Hustle'' (2019) remake of '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (1988)

Other writings

*"The Engagement Baby" (1970) – play *"Simon's Soul" (1977) – novel *" A Time to Remember" (1986) – novel

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Stanley American male screenwriters Film producers from New York (state) Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Writers Guild of America Award winners Writers from New York City 1925 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Screenwriters from New York (state) Brooklyn College alumni 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters