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Millard Lampell (bornMilton Lampell, January 23, 1919 – October 3, 1997) was an American movie and television screenwriter who first became publicly known as a member of theAlmanac Singers in the 1940s.
Lampell was born inPaterson, New Jersey, one of five children born to Charles S. and Bertha Lampell.[1][2] He studied atWest Virginia University, where he gained his first exposure to folk music. In 1940 he formed the Almanac Singers withPete Seeger andLee Hays, later addingWoody Guthrie. Lampell wrote songs with both Seeger and Guthrie, and adapted traditional songs into labor anthems and pro-union messages. During the period of the Hitler-Stalin pact from 1939 to 1941, the group also sang songs attackingFranklin D. Roosevelt as a warmonger and opposing Britain's war against Nazi Germany.
After the Almanac Singers disbanded in 1942, Lampell wrote the lyrics forThe Lonesome Train, a ballad opera on the death ofAbraham Lincoln, with music composed byEarl Robinson. He went on to a career as a scriptwriter for movies and, later, television. In the 1950s, he refused to testify before theHouse Un-American Activities Committee and wasblacklisted. He wrote the screenplay for the marriage guidance filmThis Charming Couple (1950) using the pseudonym H. Partnow. Some other of his screenplays wereBlind Date (1959),The Idol (1966) andDo Not Fold, Staple, Spindle or Mutilate (1967).
Notable television plays includedThe Adams Chronicles and the mini-seriesRich Man, Poor Man (both 1976). In 1966, he was awarded an Emmy for his teleplay for theHallmark Hall of Fame dramaEagle in a Cage. He also wrote novels, and the playThe Wall which was produced on Broadway.
Lampell died of lung cancer in 1997 at the age of 78.
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