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, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

's most successful films. Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, 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'' 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 ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. He dropped out of Brooklyn College 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 fo ...

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 theatre) who started in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major Broadway performer in ...

'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 ''Pett ...

, as the series was renamed ''

The Ray Bolger Show ''Where's Raymond?'' is an American sitcom that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, starring Ray Bolger. The series aired from October 1953 to April 22, 1955. The series' title was spurred by Bolger's Broadway (theatre), Broadway stage h ...

''. Additional writing credits include ''

Operation Petticoat ''Operation Petticoat'' is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, that stars Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. The film tells in flashba ...

'', ''

Come September ''Come September'' is a 1961 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin. Plot Wealthy American businessman Robert Talbot owns a villa on the Ligurian coa ...

'', '' Bedtime Story'', ''

Me, Natalie ''Me, Natalie'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe about a homely young woman from Brooklyn who moves to Greenwich Village and finds romance with an aspiring painter. The screenplay by A. Martin Zweiback is based on an origi ...

'', '' 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 and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in 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'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts ...

'' (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 ''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Company ...

'' (1958) (TV series) – writer *'' Pillow Talk'' (1959) – writer *''

'' (1959) – writer *'' McGarry and His Mouse'' (1960) (TV movie) – writer, producer *''

The Tab Hunter Show ''The Tab Hunter Show'' is an American situation comedy starring Tab Hunter which centers around a young comic-strip artist and his romantic adventures. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 18, 1960, until April 30, 1961.McNeil, Alex, '' ...

'' (1960–61) – creator, producer *''

'' (1961) – writer *'' Lover Come Back'' (1961) – writer, producer *'' That Touch of Mink'' (1962) – writer, producer *''

The Comedy Spot (TV series) ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (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'' (1968) – writer, producer *''

'' (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)

Other writings

*"The Engagement Baby" (1973) – play *"Simon's Soul" (1977) – novel *"

A Time to Remember ''A Time to Remember'' is the 2009 double album recording of the show by the same name, by The Dubliners, recorded in Vienna. First performed in Vicar Street, Dublin on 4 July 2009 and later taken on tour around Europe, it was conceived as a tri ...

" (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