Philip G. Epstein (August 22, 1909 – February 7, 1952) was an Americanscreenwriter most known for his screenplay for the filmCasablanca (1942), which won anAcademy Award. He had written it in partnership with his twin brotherJulius andHoward Koch as an adaptation of the unproduced playEverybody Comes to Rick's, written by Murray Bennett and Joan Alison.[1]
Epstein was born to aJewish family[2] on August 22, 1909 inNew York City and raised on theLower East Side ofManhattan; his identical twin brother wasJulius Epstein. Their father Harry was alivery stable owner in the days when horses were widely used in the city. He and his brother Julius attended Pennsylvania State College (nowPennsylvania State University), gaining his degree in 1931. Following college, Philip took up acting and Julius became aprofessional boxer.[3]
After college, the Epstein twins headed toHollywood, hoping to work in the movie industry. They became successful screenwriters.Jack L. Warner, head ofWarner Brothers, had a love-hate relationship with the Epstein brothers. He could not argue with their commercial success, but he deplored their pranks, their work habits and the hours they kept. In 1952, Warner gave the brothers' names to theHouse Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). They never testified before the committee, but on a HUAC questionnaire, when asked if they ever were members of a "subversive organization," they wrote, "Yes. Warner Brothers."[citation needed]
Epstein was married to Lillian Targan from 1932. His sonLeslie Epstein directed thecreative writing program atBoston University and was a novelist. In 2003, Leslie published a fictionalized version of his boyhood titledSan Remo Drive: A Novel from Memory.[4] His grandsonTheo Epstein is a former baseball executive who previously served as the president of baseball operations for theChicago Cubs and as the general manager of theBoston Red Sox. His granddaughter Anya Epstein is a screenwriter.
Epstein died of cancer in Hollywood, California in 1952 at the age of 42. His brother Julius outlived him by 48 years, dying in 2000 at age 91.[5]
Selected filmography as a screenwriter:[1]
