Arnold Perl (April 14, 1914 – December 11, 1971) was anAmerican playwright, screenwriter, television producer and television writer of Jewish origin.^[2]

Perl briefly attendedCornell University, but did not graduate. He had written for the television seriesThe Big Story,Naked City,The Doctors and the Nurses,East Side/West Side andN.Y.P.D., which he created withDavid Susskind.

Perl first made a name for himself in the mid-1950s when he published three one-act plays based on works bySholem Aleichem, who died in 1916 ("A Tale of Schelm", "Bontche Schweig", and "The High School"), which he published under the titleThe World of Sholom Aleichem which dealt with the life ofRussian Jews. This Perl work also features the characterTevye, the milkman, who was finally memorialized in 1964 with the musicalFiddler on the Roof. Perl's play premiered at theCarnegie Hall Playhouse in January 1957 and received good reviews.^[1] Until modern times, Tevye's story is performed on Broadway under the titleFiddler on the Roof with the suffix "Sholem Aleichem's stories used by special permission of Arnold Perl".^[3]

Perl also co-wrote the screenplay forCotton Comes to Harlem (1970), actorOssie Davis' film directing debut. Perl also wrote the playTevye and his Daughters.^[4][5]

During the 1950s Perl married Nancy Ann Reals (1933-2018) after the pair met while working on a stage production of Perl’sSholem Aleicheim. The Perls spent their time between East Hampton and Manhattan.^[6]

At the time of Perl's death in 1971, he had been collaborating with James Baldwin on the documentary filmMalcolm X (1972). Nancy took over the project as a producer, working with editor Mick Benderoth. Perl was nominated posthumously for theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Feature for his work on the film in 1973.^[7] Perl's script for the film was later re-written bySpike Lee for his1992 film onMalcolm X.^[8]

Years later, in 1990, Nancy Ann Reals Perl and Benderoth wed after forming a production company.

• Arnold Perl atIMDb
• Arnold Perl at theInternet Broadway Database

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