- Isobel Lennart
Isobel Lennart (
May 18 ,1915 -January 25 ,1971 ) was an Americanscreenwriter andplaywright .A native of
Brooklyn, New York , Lennart moved toHollywood , where she was hired to work in theMGM mail room, a job she lost when she attempted to organize a union. She joined theCommunist Party in 1939 but left five years later.Lennart's first script, "
The Affairs of Martha ", an original comedy about the residents of a wealthy community who fear their secrets are about to be revealed in an exposé written by one of their maids, was filmed in 1942 withSpring Byington ,Marjorie Main , andRichard Carlson . This was followed in quick succession by "A Stranger in Town ", "Anchors Aweigh", "Holiday in Mexico ", and "It Happened in Brooklyn ".In 1947, the
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began an investigation into the motion picture industry. Lennart, who had beenblacklisted due to herleft-wing leanings, was called to tesitify and named twenty-one individuals she knew had been members of the Communist Party, thus saving her own career.Lennart's later screen credits include "
Love Me or Leave Me ", "Merry Andrew ", "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness ", "Please Don't Eat the Daisies", "The Sundowners ", and "Two for the Seesaw ".In 1964, Lennart wrote the book for the Broadway musical "Funny Girl", based on the life and career of
Fanny Brice and her tempestuous relationship with gamblerNicky Arnstein . It catapultedBarbra Streisand to fame and earned her aTony Award nomination. In 1968, she wrote the screen adaptation, which won her aWriters Guild of America award for Best Screenplay. It proved to be her last work. Three years later, she was killed in an automobile accident inHemet, California .External links
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0501973/ Internet Movie Database listing]
* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=6475/ Internet Broadway Database listing] ]
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