Irving Ravetch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Irving Dover Ravetch (1920-11-14)November 14, 1920 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | September 19, 2010(2010-09-19) (aged 89) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | James P. Bonner |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1947–1990 |
| Spouse | |
Irving Dover Ravetch (November 14, 1920 – September 19, 2010) was an American screenwriter and film producer who frequently collaborated with his wifeHarriet Frank Jr.
Ravetch was born to aJewish family[1] inNewark, New Jersey, the son of Sylvia (Shapiro) and I. Shalom Ravetch, arabbi.[2] His mother was born in Palestine and his father in Ukraine.[1] Ravetch was an aspiring playwright when he enrolled atUniversity of California, Los Angeles.
Following graduation, he joined the young writer's training program atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he metHarriet Frank Jr., whom he married in 1946.[3] He gained his first screen credit withLiving in a Big Way which was released the following year.
For the next decade, Ravetch worked mostly onWesterns such asVengeance Valley (1951). With Frank, he approached producerJerry Wald and proposed they adapt theWilliam Faulkner novelThe Hamlet (1940) for the screen. The result wasThe Long, Hot Summer (1958), which primarily was an original story with one of Faulkner's characters at its center. When Waldgreenlighted the film and asked Ravetch to choose a director, he suggestedMartin Ritt, whom he knew from theGroup Theatre and theActors Studio in New York City.[3]The Long, Hot Summer proved to be the first of eight projects – includingThe Sound and the Fury (1959),Hud (1963),Norma Rae (1979),Murphy's Romance (1985), andStanley & Iris (1990) – written by Ravetch and Frank and directed by Ritt. Additional screenwriting credits includeHome from the Hill (1960),The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (also 1960),The Reivers (1969),The Cowboys (1972), andThe Spikes Gang (1974).
Ravetch and Frank were nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and won both theNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay and theWriters Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay forHud. He was a recipient of theBronze Wrangler forThe Cowboys, theScreen Laurel Award, and additional Oscar, WGA, and Golden Globe nominations.
Ravetch metHarriet Frank Jr. atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer's young writer's training program, whom he married in 1946.[3]
Ravetch died frompneumonia on September 19, 2010.[4]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
