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Jerome Lawrence

Born Cleveland, Ohio 14 July, 1915, Died Malibu 29th February, 2004

Biography at GradeASaver

Jerome Lawrence comments: Robert E. Lee and I have been called by various critics: "the thinking man's playwrights." In our plays and in our teaching we have attempted to be part of our times. We have done all we can to encourage truly national and international theatre, not confined to a few blocks of real estate in Manhattan or London's West End. Thus, we have sought to promote the growth of regional and university theatres through the formation of American Playwrights Theatre, to bring new and vital and pertinent works to all of America and all of the world.

Plays:

1. Laugh, God! 1939.
2. Tomorrow, with Budd Schulberg. 1944.
3. Inside a Kid's Head, with Robert E. Lee. 1945.
4. Look, Ma, I'm Dancin', with Robert E. Lee, music by Hugh Martin, conceived by Jerome Robbins (produced 1948).
5. The Crocodile Smile, with Robert E. Lee (as The Laugh Maker, produced 1952 revised version, as Turn on the Night, produced 1961; revised version, as The Crocodile Smile, also director: produced 1970). 1972.
6. Inherit the Wind, with Robert E. Lee. 1955.
7. Shangri-La, with Robert E. Lee and James Hilton, music by Harry Warren, adaptation of the novel Lost Horizon by Hilton. 1956.
8. Auntie Mame, with Robert E. Lee, adaptation of the work by Patrick Dennis. 1957 revised version, music by Jerry Herman, as Mame (produced 1966), 1967.
9. The Gang's All Here, with Robert E. Lee. 1960.
10. Only in America, with Robert E. Lee, adaptation of the work by Harry Golden. 1959.
11. A Call on Kuprin, with Robert E. Lee, adaptation of the novel by Maurice Edelman. 1961.
12. Sparks Fly Upward, with Robert E. Lee (as Diamond Orchid, produced 1965 revised version, as Sparks Fly Upward, produced 1967). 1969.
13. Live Spelled Backwards (produced 1966). 1970.
14. Dear World, with Robert E. Lee, music by Jerry Herman, based on The Madwoman of Chaillot by Giraudoux (produced 1969).
15. The Incomparable Max, with Robert E. Lee (also director: produced 1969). 1972.
16. The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, with Robert E. Lee (produced 1970). 1970.
17. Jabberwock: Improbabilities Lived and Imagined by James Thurber in the Fictional City of Columbus, Ohio, with Robert E. Lee (produced 1972). 1974.
18. First Monday in October, with Robert E. Lee (also director: produced 1975). 1979.
19. Whisper in the Mind, with Norman Cousins and Robert E. Lee (produced 1990). 

SCREENPLAYS, with Robert E. Lee:

1. My Love Affair with the Human Race, 1962;
2. The New Yorkers, 1963
3. Joyous Season, 1964
4. The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, 1972;
5. First Monday in October, 1982. 

RADIO PLAYS:

1. Junior Theatre of the Air series, 1938
2. Under Western Skies series, 1939
3. Nightcap Yarns series, 1939, 1940
4. Stories from Life series, 1939, 1940
5. Man about Hollywood series, 1940
6. Hollywood Showcase series, 1940, 1941
7. A Date with Judy series, 1941, 1942
8. They Live Forever series, 1942
9. Everything for the Boys series, 1944
10. I Was There series with Robert E. Lee - Columbia Workshop series, 1941-42
11. Armed Forces Radio Service Programs, 1942-45
12. The World We're Fighting For series, 1943
13. Request Performance series, 1945-46
14. Screen Guild Theatre series, 1946
15. Favourite Story series, 1946-49
16. Frank Sinatra Show, 1947
17. Dinah Shore Program, 1948
18. The Railroad Hour, 1948-54
19. Young Love series, 1949-50
20. United Nations Broadcasts, 194950
21. Halls of Ivy series, 1950-51
22. Hallmark Playhouse series, 1950-51
23. Charles Boyer Show, 1951
24. other freelance and special programs, 1941-50.

TELEVISION PLAYS:

1. Lincoln, The Unwilling Warrior, 1975;
2. The Unexpected series, with Robert E. Lee- 1951
3. Favourite Story series, 1952-53
4. Song of Norway, 1957
5. West Point, 1958
6. Actor, music by Billy Goldenburg, 1978.

OTHER

• Oscar the Ostrich (for children as Jerome Schwartz). 1940.
• Actor: The Life and Times of Paul Muni. 1974.
• Editor, Off Mike: Radio Writing by the Nation's Top Radio Writers. 1944. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: in Studies in American Drama: 1945 to the Present. 1992. 

MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS:

• Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute, Ohio State University, Columbus
• Lincoln Center Library of the Performing Arts, New York
• Kent State University, Ohio
• Widener Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Ziv-United Artists film and transcription library

CRITICAL STUDY: "The Greatest Sport in the World" (interview with Christopher Meeks), in Writer's Digest, March 1986.