- Joseph Stefano
Infobox Actor
name = Joseph Stefano
birthname = Joseph William Stefano
birthdate = birth date|1922|5|5
location =Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
deathdate = death date and age|2006|8|25|1922|5|5
deathplace =Thousand Oaks, California
spouse = Marilyn Epstein (1954-2006)
occupation = screenwriter, producer, directorJoseph Stefano (
5 May 1922 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -25 August 2006 ) was an Americanscreenwriter .As a teenager, Stefano was so keen to become an actor that he dropped out of high school two weeks before graduation and went to
New York City . In Manhattan he adopted the stage name Jerry Stevens.But Stefano's initial career was as a composer of
pop music in the 1940s, writing songs for Las Vegas showmanDonn Arden . In possession ofa large collection of sheet music, he once spent five hours challenging pianistMichael Feinstein on names of obscureTin Pan Alley songs.Stefano began writing movie scripts in the late 1950s, firstly for
Martin Ritt with "The Black Orchid" (1958); his father, a tailor, had made silk flowers and this was an influence on the screenplay. In 1960 though, Stefano was commissioned byAlfred Hitchcock to adaptRobert Bloch 's pulp novel "Psycho" for the screen. His work was recognized by theMystery Writers of America when he was given a 1961Edgar Award , for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. Stefano was also offered the job of scripting Hitchcock's "The Birds" (1963) and Marnie" (1964), but chose instead to produce and write for his friendLeslie Stevens 'science fiction television anthology series "The Outer Limits ". This involvement was short-lived.After leaving the series due to network interference and exhaustion, Stefano wrote and directed "The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre" (1964; AKA "The Haunted"), a difficult-to-find film utilizing many of the crew responsible for "The Outer Limits". The thriller "Eye of the Cat" (1969) and the
comedy "Futz!" (1969) (co-written by Rochelle Owens) were Stefano's last big-screen jobs for many years. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he wrote manymade-for-TV movie s, such as "Home for the Holidays" (1972), and "Snowbeast " (1977).In 1990, he revisited the characters from "Psycho" with the TV movie script for the last sequel in what had become an increasingly disappointing series of films. "" (1991) interestingly posits the origins of
Norman Bates ' destructive mother-love, featuringOlivia Hussey as Mrs. Bates. Stefano wrote and executive produced theAl Pacino drama "Two Bits" (1995; AKA "A Day to Remember"), a personal project that fared poorly at the box-office and with critics, leaving Stefano less than enthusiastic about continuing to write for modern Hollywood.Gus Van Sant 's remake of "Psycho" (1998) followed Stefano's script punctiliously.Stefano died of a heart attack at
Los Robles Hospital inThousand Oaks, California ."The Outer Limits"
Stefano was a producer for the first season of "The Outer Limits" and wrote a total of 12 episodes. They are:
*"Nightmare"
*"It Crawled Out of the Woodwork "
*"The Zanti Misfits "
*"The Mice" (teleplay)
*"Don't Open Till Doomsday "
*"The Invisibles"
*"The Bellero Shield " (story & teleplay)
*"Moonstone" (story)
*"Fun and Games " (teleplay)
*"A Feasibility Study "
*"The Chameleon" (story)
*"The Forms of Things Unknown "The last episode was originally a pilot for a proposed TV series called "The Unknown", but after ABC rejected it, Stefano reworked it as the season one finale.References
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901421.html Bernstein, Adam. (2006, August 30). "Joseph Stefano; Key Writer for 'Psycho"'. The Washington Post, page B6]
External links
* [http://www.hollywoodgothique.com/stefano.html Joseph Stefano - Psycho Screenwriter Interview]
*imdb name|id=0825010|name=Joseph Stefano
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