Samson Raphaelson
Encyclopedia
Samson Raphaelson was an American screenwriter
and playwright
.
Born in New York City
, Raphaelson worked on nine films with Ernst Lubitsch
, including Trouble in Paradise (1932), The Shop Around the Corner
(1939), Heaven Can Wait
(1943), and That Lady in Ermine
(1948). He also collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock
on Hitchcock's Suspicion
(1941). He is the author of the short story Day of Atonement, which he adapted into a play entitled The Jazz Singer
in 1925. The play was later made into the film The Jazz Singer
(1927), starring Al Jolson, and produced by Warner Brothers in the Vitaphone
sound-on-disc
process as the first talkie with dialogue. Samson Raphaelson was reportedly Lubitsch's favorite screenwriter.
Samson Raphaelson considered Suspicion to be "in many ways my best screenplay." Raphaelson also co-wrote Lubitsch's only sound-era drama Broken Lullaby
(The Man I Killed, 1932). Though praised by playwright Robert E. Sherwood
as "the best talking picture that has yet been seen and heard," the film was a box office flop. Aside from his more popular work, Raphaelson also wrote the college fight song for the University of Illinois in 1921. Titled, "Fight, Illini!: The Stadium Song" the music was composed by Rose J. Oltusky.
In 1977 the Writers Guild of America Award
s granted him the "Laurel" for lifetime achievement. He taught playwriting at Columbia University
until the last years of his life. His wife Dorshka (Dorothy Wegman) (1904–2005) was the author of the novel Morning Song (1948) and, until her death in 2005, was the second oldest surviving Ziegfeld Follies
dancer. His nephew is filmmaker Bob Rafelson
, and his grandson is photographer Paul Raphaelson
.
(1935) opened on Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman (formerly Biltmore) Theatre. Cast included David Hyde Pierce
, Rosie Benton, and was directed by Tony Award
winner Daniel J. Sullivan
.
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 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...
.
Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Raphaelson worked on nine films with Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
, including Trouble in Paradise (1932), The Shop Around the Corner
The Shop Around the Corner
-External links:* Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism, Issue 1, 2010...
(1939), Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait (1943 film)
Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 American comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was by Samson Raphaelson based on the play Birthday by Leslie Bush-Fekete. The music score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Edward Cronjager.The film tells the story of a man who has...
(1943), and That Lady in Ermine
That Lady in Ermine
That Lady in Ermine is a 1948 American musical film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay by Samson Raphaelson is based on the operetta Die Frau im Hermelin by Rudolph Schanzer and Ernst Welisch....
(1948). He also collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
on Hitchcock's Suspicion
Suspicion (film)
Suspicion is a romantic psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine as a married couple. It also stars Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Isabel Jeans, Heather Angel, and Leo G...
(1941). He is the author of the short story Day of Atonement, which he adapted into a play entitled The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer may refer to:* The Jazz Singer , a 1925 Broadway play* The Jazz Singer , a film version of the play, and the first feature-length motion picture with talking sequences...
in 1925. The play was later made into the film The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
(1927), starring Al Jolson, and produced by Warner Brothers in the 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...
sound-on-disc
Sound-on-disc
The term Sound-on-disc refers to a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or playback sound in sync with a motion picture...
process as the first talkie with dialogue. Samson Raphaelson was reportedly Lubitsch's favorite screenwriter.
Samson Raphaelson considered Suspicion to be "in many ways my best screenplay." Raphaelson also co-wrote Lubitsch's only sound-era drama Broken Lullaby
Broken Lullaby
Broken Lullaby is an American drama film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and released by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay by Samson Raphaelson and Ernest Vajda is based on the 1930 play L'homme que j'ai tué by Maurice Rostand and its 1931 English-language adaptation, The Man I Killed, by Reginald...
(The Man I Killed, 1932). Though praised by playwright Robert E. Sherwood
Robert E. Sherwood
Robert Emmet Sherwood was an American playwright, editor, and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in New Rochelle, New York, he was a son of Arthur Murray Sherwood, a rich stockbroker, and his wife, the former Rosina Emmet, a well-known illustrator and portrait painter known as Rosina E. Sherwood...
as "the best talking picture that has yet been seen and heard," the film was a box office flop. Aside from his more popular work, Raphaelson also wrote the college fight song for the University of Illinois in 1921. Titled, "Fight, Illini!: The Stadium Song" the music was composed by Rose J. Oltusky.
In 1977 the Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
s granted him the "Laurel" for lifetime achievement. He taught playwriting at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
until the last years of his life. His wife Dorshka (Dorothy Wegman) (1904–2005) was the author of the novel Morning Song (1948) and, until her death in 2005, was the second oldest surviving Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
dancer. His nephew is filmmaker Bob Rafelson
Bob Rafelson
Robert "Bob" Rafelson is an Emmy Award winning American film director, writer and producer. He was an early member of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s and is most famous for directing and co-writing the film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson, as well as being one of the creators of...
, and his grandson is photographer Paul Raphaelson
Paul Raphaelson
Paul Raphaelson , is an American artist best known for urban landscape photography.In the early 1990s, after moving to Providence, Rhode Island, he started producing formally complex, often dark depictions of the urban, suburban, and industrial landscape...
.
Plays
In April 2009, a production of Raphaelson's play Accent on YouthAccent on Youth
Accent on Youth is a Broadway play written by Samson Raphaelson which debuted on Christmas Day, 1934. The plot concerns a lazy, middle-aged playwright who is spurred to write by his new young secretary. The original cast included Nicholas Hannen as playwright Steven Gaye and Constance Cummings as...
(1935) opened on Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman (formerly Biltmore) Theatre. Cast included David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he received many accolades including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.-Early life:Pierce, the youngest of four siblings,...
, Rosie Benton, and was directed by Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
winner Daniel J. Sullivan
Daniel J. Sullivan
Daniel J. Sullivan is an American theatre and film director and playwright.-Life and career:Sullivan was born in Wray, Colorado, the son of Mary Catherine and John Martin Sullivan. He was raised in San Francisco, where he graduated from San Francisco State University...
.