Sylvia Thalberg (August 26, 1907 – April 9, 1988) was an American screenwriter. Her brother was film producer

Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...

Biography

Origins

Sylvia was 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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, to German-Jewish immigrant parents. She had one brother, Irving, who would grow up to be a famous producer at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. She spent most of her early life in Brooklyn before joining her brother in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in the late 1920s.

Hollywood career

By 1927, she had begun writing scenarios for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

, and was noted as the youngest member of the studio's writing staff. Some of her earliest screenplays included '' Lovers?'' and '' Baby Mine'', both of which were hits with audiences. With the release of 1930's ''

Montana Moon ''Montana Moon'' is a 1930 Pre-Code Western musical film which introduced the concept of the singing cowboy to the screen. Starring Joan Crawford, Johnny Mack Brown, Dorothy Sebastian, and Ricardo Cortez, the film focuses on the budding relat ...

'', she and co-writer Frank Butler were noted as the only screenwriters at the time who had prepared the original story, adaptation, continuity and dialogue for a sound film. She and Butler collaborated on a number of scripts together. In 1933, she resigned her position at MGM aiming to spend her time writing novels. At the time, she had tired of being accused of benefiting from her brother's position, and her novel, ''Too Beautiful'', had been accepted for publication. She wasn't gone from the business long, however; later that year, she was signed to co-write a script at Paramount and later officially joined its staff. In 1944, she signed a new writing contract at the Producers Corporation of America, where it was announced she was writing a remake of ''The Greeks Had a Word for It''. The film was never made.

Personal life

In 1928, she married

Lawrence Weingarten Lawrence Weingarten (December 30, 1897 – February 5, 1975) was an American film producer. He was best known for working for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and producing some of the studio's most prestigious films such as ''Adam's Rib'' (1949), ''I'll Cr ...

, a producer at MGM. The marriage ended in divorce in 1943. She later married Paul Streeger, and they remained married until his death.

Selected filmography

* ''

As Good as Married ''As Good as Married'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Edward Buzzell and starring John Boles, Doris Nolan and Walter Pidgeon. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures. Filming started in December 1936.Of Local Origin New York ...

'' (1937) * ''

A Son Comes Home ''A Son Comes Home'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by E.A. Dupont and starring Mary Boland, Julie Haydon and Donald Woods. It was one of three films made by Dupont for Paramount Pictures.St. Pierre p.23 Plot Partial cast * Mary Boland ...

'' (1936) * '' Now and Forever'' (1934) * ''

Christopher Bean ''Christopher Bean'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Sam Wood and written by Laurence E. Johnson and Sylvia Thalberg, based on the 1932 play, ''The Late Christopher Bean'', by Sidney Howard. The film stars Marie Dressler, Li ...

'' (1933) * ''

Prosperity Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notion ...

'' (1932) * ''

When a Feller Needs a Friend ''When a Feller Needs a Friend'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Harry A. Pollard and written by Frank Butler and Sylvia Thalberg. The film stars Jackie Cooper, Charles "Chic" Sale, Ralph Graves, Dorothy Peterson, Andy Sh ...

'' (1932) * ''

This Modern Age ''This Modern Age'' is a 1931 American pre-Code Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film directed by Nick Grinde and starring Joan Crawford, Neil Hamilton, Pauline Frederick and Albert Conti. Plot Socialite Valentine "Val" Winters (Joan Crawford) ...

'' (1931) * ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclip ...

'' (1930) * ''

Those Three French Girls ''Those Three French Girls '' is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Fifi D'Orsay, Reginald Denny, and Cliff Edwards. The dialogue was written by P. G. Wodehouse.Montana Moon ''Montana Moon'' is a 1930 Pre-Code Western musical film which introduced the concept of the singing cowboy to the screen. Starring Joan Crawford, Johnny Mack Brown, Dorothy Sebastian, and Ricardo Cortez, the film focuses on the budding relat ...

'' (1930) * ''Untamed'' (1928) * ''

China Bound ''China Bound'' is a 1929 silent film comedy produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A rarely revived comedy due to some of its Asian racial content, a selected scene was shown in Robert Youngson's 1965 ''MGM's Big Parade of Comedy''. P ...

'' (1929) * '' Baby Mine'' (1928) * '' Lovers?'' (1927)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thalberg, Sylvia 1907 births 1988 deaths American women screenwriters American people of German-Jewish descent Writers from Brooklyn 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American screenwriters