Jerry Wald
Encyclopedia
Jerry Wald was an American
producer
and screenwriter
for motion pictures and radio shows.
Born Jerome Irving Wald in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were active in show business. Jerry began writing a radio column for the New York Evening Graphic while a student at New York University
. This led to him to produce several Rambling 'Round Radio Row
featurettes for Vitaphone
, Warner Brothers' short subject division, in 1932-'33.
Wald produced and wrote many films between the 1930s and 1960s including Stars Over Broadway (1935), The Roaring Twenties
(1939), On Your Toes (1939, in collaboration with playwright
Lawrence Riley
), They Drive by Night
(1940), Navy Blues (1941), Across the Pacific
(1942), The Man Who Came to Dinner
(1942), Destination Tokyo
(1943), Mildred Pierce
(1945), Johnny Belinda (1948), Key Largo
(1948), Always Leave Them Laughing (1949), The Glass Menagerie
(1950), Perfect Strangers
(1950), Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), The Blue Veil
(1951), Peyton Place
(1957), An Affair to Remember
(1957), In Love and War
(1958), The Sound and the Fury
(1959), Sons and Lovers
(1960), Return to Peyton Place
(1961) and Wild in the Country
(1961).
He also produced the Academy Awards
telecast twice, the ceremonies for 1957 and 1958.
He received four Academy Award nominations as producer of the nominees for Best Picture
Mildred Pierce
, Johnny Belinda, Peyton Place
and Sons and Lovers
. Although he never won a competitive Academy Award, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1949.
He died, aged 50, at home in Beverly Hills, California
from a heart attack
.
Wald was the real-life inspiration for the character of Sammy Glick in the 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and 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:...
for motion pictures and radio shows.
Born Jerome Irving Wald in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were active in show business. Jerry began writing a radio column for the New York Evening Graphic while a student at 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...
. This led to him to produce several Rambling 'Round Radio Row
Rambling 'Round Radio Row
Rambling 'Round Radio Row is a series of short subjects, produced by Jerry Wald, and released by the Vitaphone division of Warner Brothers...
featurettes for Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...
, Warner Brothers' short subject division, in 1932-'33.
Wald produced and wrote many films between the 1930s and 1960s including Stars Over Broadway (1935), The Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a 1939 crime thriller starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart and Gladys George. The movie was directed by Raoul Walsh, and written by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay and Robert Rossen based on the story "The World Moves On" by Mark Hellinger...
(1939), On Your Toes (1939, in collaboration with playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Lawrence Riley
Lawrence Riley
Lawrence Riley was a successful American playwright and screenwriter. He gained fame in 1934 as the author of the Broadway hit Personal Appearance, which was turned by Mae West into the classic film Go West, Young Man , starring herself.-Biography:Riley was a Princeton University alumnus and a...
), They Drive by Night
They Drive by Night
They Drive by Night is a black-and-white film noir starring George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, and Humphrey Bogart, and directed by Raoul Walsh. The picture involves a pair of embattled truck drivers and was released in the UK under the title The Road to Frisco. The film was based on A. I...
(1940), Navy Blues (1941), Across the Pacific
Across the Pacific
Across the Pacific is a 1942 spy film set on the eve of the entry of the United States into World War II. The film was directed first by John Huston, then by Vincent Sherman after Huston joined the United States Army Signal Corps...
(1942), The Man Who Came to Dinner
The Man Who Came to Dinner (film)
The Man Who Came to Dinner is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William Keighley. The screenplay by Julius and Philip G. Epstein is based on the 1939 play of the same title by Moss Hart and George S...
(1942), Destination Tokyo
Destination Tokyo
Destination Tokyo is a 1943 submarine war film. It was directed by Delmer Daves and written by Daves, Steve Fisher and Albert Maltz, and stars Cary Grant and John Garfield with featured performances by Dane Clark, Robert Hutton and Warner Anderson. Production began on June 21, 1943 and continued...
(1943), Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce (film)
Mildred Pierce is a 1945 American drama film starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden in a film noir about a long-suffering mother and her ungrateful daughter. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall, William Faulkner, and Catherine Turney was based upon the 1941...
(1945), Johnny Belinda (1948), Key Largo
Key Largo (film)
Key Largo is a 1948 film noir directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, and Claire Trevor...
(1948), Always Leave Them Laughing (1949), The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie (1950 film)
The Glass Menagerie is a 1950 American drama film directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Tennessee Williams and Peter Berneis is based on the 1944 Williams play of the same title. It was the first of his plays to be adapted for the screen.-Plot:...
(1950), Perfect Strangers
Perfect Strangers (1950 film)
Perfect Strangers is a 1950 American comedy-drama film directed by Bretaigne Windust. The screenplay for the Warner Bros. release by Edith Sommer was based on an adaptation of the 1939 Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur play Ladies and Gentlemen by George Oppenheimer.-Plot:The title characters are Terry...
(1950), Two Tickets to Broadway (1951), The Blue Veil
The Blue Veil
The Blue Veil is a 1951 American drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The screenplay by Norman Corwin is based on a story by François Campaux, which was adapted for the French language film Le Voile bleu in 1942.-Plot:...
(1951), Peyton Place
Peyton Place (film)
Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
(1957), An Affair to Remember
An Affair to Remember
An Affair to Remember is a 1957 film starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and directed by Leo McCarey. It was distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation....
(1957), In Love and War
In Love and War (1958 film)
In Love and War is a 1958 Cinemascope film based on a novel called The Big War by Anton Myrer and directed by Philip Dunne.-Plot summary:The film traces the progress of three Marines on shore leave during WWII, in the Pacific...
(1958), The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury is a novel written by the American author William Faulkner. It employs a number of narrative styles, including the technique known as stream of consciousness, pioneered by 20th century European novelists such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Published in 1929, The Sound and...
(1959), Sons and Lovers
Sons and Lovers (1960 film)
Sons and Lovers is a British 1960 film adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence novel Sons and Lovers. It was adapted by T. E. B. Clarke and Gavin Lambert and directed by Jack Cardiff...
(1960), Return to Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place (film)
Return to Peyton Place is a 1961 drama film produced by Jerry Wald and directed by José Ferrer. The screenplay by Ronald Alexander is based on the 1959 novel Return to Peyton Place by Grace Metalious...
(1961) and Wild in the Country
Wild in the Country
Wild in the Country is a 1961 film drama starring Elvis Presley in which he portrays a troubled young man from a dysfunctional family who pursues a literary career. The screenplay was written by playwright Clifford Odets.-Synopsis:...
(1961).
He also produced the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
telecast twice, the ceremonies for 1957 and 1958.
He received four Academy Award nominations as producer of the nominees for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce is a 1941 hardboiled novel by James M. Cain. It was made into an Oscar-winning 1945 film starring Joan Crawford and a 2011 Emmy-winning miniseries starring Kate Winslet.-Plot :...
, Johnny Belinda, Peyton Place
Peyton Place (film)
Peyton Place is a 1957 American drama film directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the bestselling 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious.-Plot:...
and Sons and Lovers
Sons and Lovers (1960 film)
Sons and Lovers is a British 1960 film adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence novel Sons and Lovers. It was adapted by T. E. B. Clarke and Gavin Lambert and directed by Jack Cardiff...
. Although he never won a competitive Academy Award, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1949.
He died, aged 50, at home in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Wald was the real-life inspiration for the character of Sammy Glick in the 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy-award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, and his 1957 screenplay for A Face in the...
.