Karl Tunberg
Encyclopedia
Karl Tunberg was an American screenwriter and occasional film producer.
Born in Spokane, Washington
, Tunberg's earliest writings included short stories, and a novel entitled While the Crowd Cheers, which was published in 1935 by the Macaulay Company. Very soon, Karl Tunberg's story-telling talents were noticed by movie studios, and he was employed to write screenplays. Starting in 1937 Karl was on contract as a screenwriter for Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation under Darryl Zanuck. In the early 1940s Karl Tunberg moved his seat of operations to Paramount Pictures. In the first phase of his career Tunberg typically collaborated with other writers, especially with Darrell Ware, a deft composer of musical comedies. Eventually (in the later 1940s, the 1950s, and the 1960s) Tunberg worked more frequently on his own. His first feature film was You Can't Have Everything
(1937), after which he provided scripts for several comedies and musicals featuring such stars as Betty Grable
, Sonja Henie
, Deanna Durbin
, Dorothy Lamour
and Shirley Temple
. Among his credits are My Gal Sal
(1942), Standing Room Only (1944), Kitty (1945) both with Paulette Goddard
, Because You're Mine
(1952), Valley of the Kings
(1954), Beau Brummell
(1954), The Seventh Sin
(1957), Count Your Blessings
(1958), Libel
(1959).
He is perhaps best-known for Ben Hur
(1959). As noted in many contemporary sources, in addition to Tunberg, who had written the first script for the project more than five years before the start of principal photography, Christopher Fry and Gore Vidal contributed to the screenplay during filming. Maxwell Anderson and S.N. Behrman are also mentioned as contributing writers in the film’s commemorative booklet. The film's final onscreen writing credits created controversy when, in October 1959, the Writers Guild of America
(WGA) awarded Tunberg sole screenplay credit, despite the objections of the film's director, William Wyler
, who, in the film's commemorative booklet and elsewhere, claimed that Christopher Fry was more responsible than any other writer for the final screenplay. In response to Wyler's public outcries against their ruling, the WGA took out trade paper ads on November 20, 1959 in which they issued a statement reading, in part, "the unanimous decision of the three judges was that the sole screenplay credit was awarded to Karl Tunberg...The record shows the following: 1. Karl Tunberg is the only writer who has ever written a complete screenplay on Ben-Hur; 2. Karl Tunberg continued to contribute materials throughout the actual filming, and this material is incorporated in the final picture; and 3. Karl Tunberg alone did the necessary rewriting during the four months of retakes and added scenes. Mr. Christopher Fry himself was fully informed of the proceedings of the Guild. He has made it absolutely clear that he did not want to protest the decision of the Guild."
Karl Tunberg occasionally functioned as producer as well as writer – as in the case of Count Your Blessings (1958). In the 1960s Tunberg also wrote screenplays for two major MGM productions, I Thank a Fool
(1962) and Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
(1967). Tunberg was nominated for two Academy Awards
.
Tn the early 1970s Karl Tunberg began writing segments for television series, but he used to tell family and friends that his favorite medium was always the large-screen motion picture.
Tunberg died in London in April 1992.
Born in Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, Tunberg's earliest writings included short stories, and a novel entitled While the Crowd Cheers, which was published in 1935 by the Macaulay Company. Very soon, Karl Tunberg's story-telling talents were noticed by movie studios, and he was employed to write screenplays. Starting in 1937 Karl was on contract as a screenwriter for Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation under Darryl Zanuck. In the early 1940s Karl Tunberg moved his seat of operations to Paramount Pictures. In the first phase of his career Tunberg typically collaborated with other writers, especially with Darrell Ware, a deft composer of musical comedies. Eventually (in the later 1940s, the 1950s, and the 1960s) Tunberg worked more frequently on his own. His first feature film was You Can't Have Everything
You Can't Have Everything
You Can't Have Everything is a 1937 Fox musical film directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. The movie stars Alice Faye and Don Ameche, and was the film debut for Gypsy Rose Lee.-Plot:...
(1937), after which he provided scripts for several comedies and musicals featuring such stars as Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
, Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
, Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
, Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
and Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
. Among his credits are My Gal Sal
My Gal Sal
My Gal Sal is a 20th Century Fox musical starring Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature. The film is a biopic of 1890s composer and songwriter Paul Dresser and singer, Sally Elliot. The story it was based on was written by Paul Dresser's brother, novelist Theodore Dreiser...
(1942), Standing Room Only (1944), Kitty (1945) both with Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich...
, Because You're Mine
Because You're Mine
This article is about the 1952 musical comedy film. For other uses see Because You're Mine .Because You're Mine is a 1952 musical comedy film starring Mario Lanza. Directed by Alexander Hall, the film also stars Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore, and Dean Miller.-Plot:Opera singer superstar Renato...
(1952), Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings (film)
Valley of the Kings is a 1954 Eastmancolor adventure film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was written and directed by Robert Pirosh from a screenplay by Robert Pirosh and Karl Tunberg, "suggested by historical data" in the book Gods, Graves, and Scholars by C. W. Ceram...
(1954), Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell (film)
Beau Brummell is a historical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and produced by Sam Zimbalist from a screenplay by Karl Tunberg, based on the play Beau Brummell by Clyde Fitch. The music score was by Richard Addinsell with Miklós Rózsa...
(1954), The Seventh Sin
The Seventh Sin
The Seventh Sin is a 1957 film based on the 1925 novel The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham.It was adapted for the screen by Karl Tunberg and directed by Ronald Neame...
(1957), Count Your Blessings
Count Your Blessings (film)
Count Your Blessings is a 1959 drama film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Jean Negulesco, written and produced by Karl Tunberg, based on the 1951 novel The Blessing by Nancy Mitford. The music score was by Franz Waxman and the cinematography by George J. Folsey and Milton R. Krasner...
(1958), Libel
Libel (film)
Libel is a 1959 British drama film. It stars Olivia de Havilland, Dirk Bogarde, Paul Massie, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Robert Morley. The film's screenplay was written by Anatole de Grunwald and Karl Tunberg from a 1935 play of the same name by Edward Wooll, and it was directed by Anthony Asquith.The...
(1959).
He is perhaps best-known for Ben Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
(1959). As noted in many contemporary sources, in addition to Tunberg, who had written the first script for the project more than five years before the start of principal photography, Christopher Fry and Gore Vidal contributed to the screenplay during filming. Maxwell Anderson and S.N. Behrman are also mentioned as contributing writers in the film’s commemorative booklet. The film's final onscreen writing credits created controversy when, in October 1959, 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....
(WGA) awarded Tunberg sole screenplay credit, despite the objections of the film's director, William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
, who, in the film's commemorative booklet and elsewhere, claimed that Christopher Fry was more responsible than any other writer for the final screenplay. In response to Wyler's public outcries against their ruling, the WGA took out trade paper ads on November 20, 1959 in which they issued a statement reading, in part, "the unanimous decision of the three judges was that the sole screenplay credit was awarded to Karl Tunberg...The record shows the following: 1. Karl Tunberg is the only writer who has ever written a complete screenplay on Ben-Hur; 2. Karl Tunberg continued to contribute materials throughout the actual filming, and this material is incorporated in the final picture; and 3. Karl Tunberg alone did the necessary rewriting during the four months of retakes and added scenes. Mr. Christopher Fry himself was fully informed of the proceedings of the Guild. He has made it absolutely clear that he did not want to protest the decision of the Guild."
Karl Tunberg occasionally functioned as producer as well as writer – as in the case of Count Your Blessings (1958). In the 1960s Tunberg also wrote screenplays for two major MGM productions, I Thank a Fool
I Thank a Fool
I Thank a Fool is a 1962 British crime film made by Eaton and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Robert Stevens and produced by Anatole de Grunwald from a screenplay by Karl Tunberg based on the novel by Audrey Erskine Lindop...
(1962) and Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? is a 1968 American comedy film with Doris Day, directed by Hy Averback. Although it is set in New York City during the major blackout of November 9, 1965, in which 25 million people scattered throughout seven northeastern states and Ontario, Canada lost...
(1967). Tunberg was nominated for two 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...
.
Tn the early 1970s Karl Tunberg began writing segments for television series, but he used to tell family and friends that his favorite medium was always the large-screen motion picture.
Tunberg died in London in April 1992.