Tess Slesinger
Encyclopedia
Tess Slesinger was a Jewish-American
writer and screenwriter and is credited as being a charter member of the New York intellectual scene.
She was born as Theresa Slesinger in New York
as the fourth child of Anthony Slesinger, a Hungarian-born dress manufacturer, and Augusta (Singer) Slesinger, a prominent psychoanalyst.
She was educated at Ethical Culture Fieldston School
from September 1912 until June 1922, Swarthmore College
and the Columbia University
School of Journalism in New York
.
Maxim Lieber
served as her literary agent, 1933-1937 and in 1941.
Her one novel The Unpossessed (1934) is a satire of the New York left-wing milieu in which she then lived. A recent edition describes it as "a cutting comedy about hard times, bad jobs, lousy marriages, little magazines, high principles, and the morning after" with "a cast of litterateurs, layabouts, lotharios, academic activists, and fur-clad patrons of protest and the arts."
Her first husband was Herbert Solow, editor of the Menorah Journal. After marrying her second husband, screenwriter Frank Davis, she moved to California in 1935. Slesinger was responsible for the screenplays, among others, of The Good Earth
(1937) and, at the end of her life, she adapted A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
(1946) with Davis, which won them an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.
She was the younger sister of Red Ryder
creator Stephen Slesinger
.
Tess Slesinger died of cancer at the age of 39.
Screenplays
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer and screenwriter and is credited as being a charter member of the New York intellectual scene.
She was born as Theresa Slesinger in New York
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...
as the fourth child of Anthony Slesinger, a Hungarian-born dress manufacturer, and Augusta (Singer) Slesinger, a prominent psychoanalyst.
She was educated at Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, known as "Fieldston", is a private "independent" school in New York City and a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. It has about 1600 students and a staff of 400 people , led by Dr. Damian J...
from September 1912 until June 1922, Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
and the 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...
School of Journalism in New York
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...
.
Maxim Lieber
Maxim Lieber
Maxim Lieber was a prominent American literary agent in New York City during the 1930s and 1940s. Whittaker Chambers named him as an accomplice in 1949, and Lieber fled first to Mexico and then Poland not long after Alger Hiss's conviction in 1950.- Early years :Lieber was born in Warsaw, Poland,...
served as her literary agent, 1933-1937 and in 1941.
Her one novel The Unpossessed (1934) is a satire of the New York left-wing milieu in which she then lived. A recent edition describes it as "a cutting comedy about hard times, bad jobs, lousy marriages, little magazines, high principles, and the morning after" with "a cast of litterateurs, layabouts, lotharios, academic activists, and fur-clad patrons of protest and the arts."
Her first husband was Herbert Solow, editor of the Menorah Journal. After marrying her second husband, screenwriter Frank Davis, she moved to California in 1935. Slesinger was responsible for the screenplays, among others, of The Good Earth
The Good Earth (film)
The Good Earth is a film about Chinese farmers who struggle to survive. It was adapted by Talbot Jennings, Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West from the play by Donald Davis and Owen Davis, which was in itself based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S...
(1937) and, at the end of her life, she adapted A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (film)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 film, the first film directed by Greek-American director Elia Kazan, starring James Dunn , Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner .The film is based on an American novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith first published in 1943...
(1946) with Davis, which won them an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.
She was the younger sister of Red Ryder
Red Ryder
Red Ryder was a popular long-running Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman. Beginning Sunday, November 6, 1938, Red Ryder was syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, expanding over the following decade to 750 newspapers, translations into ten languages and...
creator Stephen Slesinger
Stephen Slesinger
Stephen Slesinger , was an American radio/television/film producer, creator of comic strip characters and the father of the licensing industry...
.
Tess Slesinger died of cancer at the age of 39.
Works
Books- On Being Told That Her Second Husband Has Taken His First Lover, and Other Stories (Reprint of Time: the Present) (1971)
- Time: the Present (1935)
- The Unpossessed (1934)
Screenplays
- A Tree Grows in BrooklynA Tree Grows In Brooklyn (film)A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 film, the first film directed by Greek-American director Elia Kazan, starring James Dunn , Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner .The film is based on an American novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith first published in 1943...
(1946) - Are Husbands Necessary? (1942)
- Remember the DayRemember the DayRemember the Day is a 1941 film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Henry King, and starring Claudette Colbert and John Payne-Plot:An elderly schoolteacher reflects on her life and teaching career while waiting to see "Dewey Roberts", formerly her student and currently a Presidential nominee...
(1941) - Dance, Girl, DanceDance, Girl, DanceDance, Girl, Dance is a film released in 1940, directed by Dorothy Arzner.In 2007, Dance, Girl, Dance was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", describing it as Arzner's...
(1940) - Girls' SchoolGirls' School (film)Girls' School is a 1938 comedy film starring Anne Shirley. The film was directed by John Brahm and based upon a Tess Slesinger story.-Plot:...
(1938) - The Bride Wore RedThe Bride Wore RedThe Bride Wore Red is a 1937 motion picture, directed by Dorothy Arzner, and starring Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, Robert Young and Billie Burke. It was based on the unproduced play The Bride from Trieste by Ferenc Molnár. In this "rags to riches" tale, Crawford plays a cabaret singer who poses as...
(1937) - The Good EarthThe Good Earth (film)The Good Earth is a film about Chinese farmers who struggle to survive. It was adapted by Talbot Jennings, Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West from the play by Donald Davis and Owen Davis, which was in itself based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S...
(1937)