Alfred Lewis Levitt
Encyclopedia
Alfred Lewis Levitt was an American
screenwriter
and television scriptwriter. He attended New York University
, and served in a camera unit of the United States Air Force during the Second World War. Following the war, Levitt was the screenwriter for such films as The Boy with Green Hair
(1948), Mrs. Mike
(1950), and The Barefoot Mailman (1951).
In 1951 he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC) for his communist
involvements, and was entered on the Hollywood blacklist
. He became unable to find work as a screen writer, and subsequently wrote television scripts under the pseudonym "Tom August."
Levitt and Pearl Helen Slote (December 16, 1916 - April 3, 1993) were married in 1938; they had two children. Helen Slote Levitt, as Slote was called after her marriage, was also a screenwriter who collaborated with her husband on many projects. She was also blacklisted, after which she wrote under the pseudonym "Helen August" for many years. The Levitts (usually credited as Tom and Helen August) were writers for such television shows as The Monkey's Uncle
, Bewitched
, and The Bionic Woman
.
The Levitts' experiences as blacklisted screenwriters have been described in several books about the Hollywood blacklist. Among the Levitts' activities during the early years of their blacklisting, and corresponding unemployment, was to participate in publishing the journal Hollywood Review. Hollywood Review has been characterized by Ceplair and Englund as, "...a critical review focusing on American films --more specifically on the increasing violence, sadism, hatred, bigotry, and glorification of brutality perpetrated on audiences by the entertainment industry." Nine issues of the journal were published between 1953 and 1956.
In 1978, Levitt rejoined the Writers Guild of America
. Starting in 1988, Levitt led an effort through the Writers' Guild to correct film credits from the blacklist era, in which it became common for the work of blacklisted writers to be uncredited, or credited using pseudonyms. The Writers' Guild maintains this listing on its website.
In 1995, Alfred and Helen Levitt were honored with the Morgan Cox Award of the Writers' Guild of America.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and television scriptwriter. He attended New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and served in a camera unit of the United States Air Force during the Second World War. Following the war, Levitt was the screenwriter for such films as The Boy with Green Hair
The Boy with Green Hair
The Boy with Green Hair is a 1948 American comedy-drama film directed by Joseph Losey. It stars Dean Stockwell as Peter, a young war orphan who is subject to ridicule after he awakens one morning to find his hair mysteriously turned green...
(1948), Mrs. Mike
Mrs. Mike
Mrs. Mike, the Story of Katherine Mary Flannigan is a novel by Benedict and Nancy Mars Freedman set in the Canadian wilderness in the early 1900s. Considered by some a young adult classic, Mrs. Mike has been published in several editions and is read worldwide...
(1950), and The Barefoot Mailman (1951).
In 1951 he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
(HUAC) for his communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
involvements, and was entered on the Hollywood blacklist
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
. He became unable to find work as a screen writer, and subsequently wrote television scripts under the pseudonym "Tom August."
Levitt and Pearl Helen Slote (December 16, 1916 - April 3, 1993) were married in 1938; they had two children. Helen Slote Levitt, as Slote was called after her marriage, was also a screenwriter who collaborated with her husband on many projects. She was also blacklisted, after which she wrote under the pseudonym "Helen August" for many years. The Levitts (usually credited as Tom and Helen August) were writers for such television shows as The Monkey's Uncle
The Monkey's Uncle
The Monkey's Uncle is a 1965 Walt Disney production starring Tommy Kirk as genius college student Merlin Jones and Annette Funicello as his girlfriend, Jennifer. The title refers to a chimpanzee named Stanley, Merlin's legal "nephew" ; Stanley otherwise has little relevance to the plot...
, Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, and The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
.
The Levitts' experiences as blacklisted screenwriters have been described in several books about the Hollywood blacklist. Among the Levitts' activities during the early years of their blacklisting, and corresponding unemployment, was to participate in publishing the journal Hollywood Review. Hollywood Review has been characterized by Ceplair and Englund as, "...a critical review focusing on American films --more specifically on the increasing violence, sadism, hatred, bigotry, and glorification of brutality perpetrated on audiences by the entertainment industry." Nine issues of the journal were published between 1953 and 1956.
In 1978, Levitt rejoined the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
. Starting in 1988, Levitt led an effort through the Writers' Guild to correct film credits from the blacklist era, in which it became common for the work of blacklisted writers to be uncredited, or credited using pseudonyms. The Writers' Guild maintains this listing on its website.
In 1995, Alfred and Helen Levitt were honored with the Morgan Cox Award of the Writers' Guild of America.