Dore Schary | |
|---|---|
 Schary in 1956 | |
| Born | Isadore Schary (1905-08-31)August 31, 1905 |
| Died | July 7, 1980(1980-07-07) (aged 74) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, playwright, film director,studio executive |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingJill Schary Robinson |
| Relatives | Jeremy Zimmer(grandson)[1] |
Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed onefeature film,Act One, the film biography of his friend, playwright and theatre directorMoss Hart. He became head of production atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer and replacedLouis B. Mayer as president of the studio in 1951.[2][3]
Schary was born to a Jewish family inNewark, New Jersey.[4][5] Schary's father ran a catering business called the Schary Manor. Dore attendedCentral High School for a year but dropped out to sell haberdashery and buy china. When he finally returned to school, he completed his three remaining years of classwork in one year, graduating in 1923.[6]
Schary worked as a journalist, did publicity for a lecture tour by Rear Adm.Richard E. Byrd, and was an assistant drama coach at the Young Men's Hebrew Association in Newark. The head coach wasMoss Hart.[7]
Schary worked in theatre as an actor and writer. In 1927 he got a bit part on Broadway in a play withPaul Muni. Then he worked with Hart at a summer resort in theCatskill Mountains, where they wrote, produced, and directed skits and plays.
Schary appeared on Broadway inThe Last Mile withSpencer Tracy. He wrote a play which was read by film producerWalter Wanger, who wired his New York office: "Hire Dore Schary. She writes with a lot of vigor – for a woman." Wanger subsequently hired Schary as a $ 100-a-week film writer.[8] Schary moved to Hollywood, but his option with Wanger was dropped after three months. In his autobiographyHeyday (1979), Schary also credits theatrical agentFrieda Fishbein in getting him to Hollywood, by introducing him toHarry Cohn, "the Maharajah of Columbia".[9]
Schary's early writing credits includeHe Couldn't Take It (1933) for Monogram, andFury of the Jungle (1933) andFog (1933) at Columbia.
Schary worked onLet's Talk It Over (1934) for Universal,The Most Precious Thing in Life (1934) at Columbia, andYoung and Beautiful (1934) at Universal. Other work for Universal includedStorm Over the Andes (1935),Chinatown Squad (1935), and (uncredited)The Raven (1935).
At Warners, Schary wroteMurder in the Clouds (1934) andRed Hot Tires (1935). He did some uncredited work on Paramount'sMississippi (1935), and wrote for Republic'sRacing Luck (1935).
Schary went to Fox forSilk Hat Kid (1935),Your Uncle Dudley (1935) andSong and Dance Man (1936). He was briefly under contract at MGM for a few months in 1936.[10]
At Paramount Schary didTimothy's Quest (1936),Mind Your Own Business (1936),Her Master's Voice (1936),Outcast (1937), andThe Girl from Scotland Yard (1937). He didLadies in Distress (1937) at Republic.
Schary's playToo Many Heroes ran on Broadway for 16 performances in the fall of 1937.
At MGM Schary worked on twoSpencer Tracy films,Big City (1937) andBoys Town (1938). Schary earned Oscar nominations on the latter for Best Screenplay and Best Story, winning for Best Story.
Schary went on to writeBroadway Melody of 1940 (1940),Young Tom Edison (1940) withMickey Rooney andEdison, the Man (1940) with Tracy. He also worked onMarried Bachelor (1941). For Republic, Schary wroteBehind the News (1940).
MGM promoted Schary to producer of their "B" pictures unit. Schary began withJoe Smith, American (1942), based on Schary's own story, which became a solid hit.Kid Glove Killer (1942), the directorial debut forFred Zinnemann, was also profitable.
Journey for Margaret (1942) was a big success, making a star ofMargaret O'Brien.Bataan (1943) made a profit of over one million dollars.Lassie Come Home (1943) withRoddy McDowall andElizabeth Taylor had a profit of over two million.[11]
Schary accepted an offer to go to work forDavid O. Selznick'sVanguard Films as head of the production. He producedI'll Be Seeing You (1944),The Spiral Staircase (1946),Till the End of Time (1946),The Farmer's Daughter (1947) withLoretta Young, andThe Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) with Cary Grant,Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple. All films were considered critical and commercial successes.
Schary's Vanguard films were released through RKO, which offered him the job as head of the production. Although he still had eleven months left on his Vanguard contract they let him go and Schary signed a five-year deal with RKO in January 1947.[12][13]
Schary personally producedMr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), a big hit, and championedCrossfire (1947), a major success for the studio. Other hits its includedEvery Girl Should Be Married (1948),Station West (1949),The Set-Up (1949) andThe Window (1949). He greenlit the directorial debuts ofNicholas Ray (They Live by Night (1948)) andJoseph Losey (The Boy with Green Hair (1948)), both of which lost money. Expensive money losers includedAdventure in Baltimore (1949) with Shirley Temple.
RKO was taken over byHoward Hughes, who clashed with Schary, particularly over Schary's desire to makeBattleground, a film about theBattle of the Bulge. Schary resigned in July 1948.[14] He soon accepted a job offer fromLouis B. Mayer at MGM.
MGM struggled to adapt to the post-war filmmaking environment and, in 1947, recorded its first-ever end-of-year financial loss. The movie industry was faced with the threat of theParamount Decree, rising labor costs, political turmoil, labor unrest, and the threat of television. MGM's parent company,Loews Incorporated in New York, decided that Schary might be able to turn the tide.[8] Schary signed to be vice president in charge of production in July 1948.[15] Schary and studio chief and founderLouis B. Mayer would soon be at odds over philosophy, with Mayer favoring splashy, wholesome entertainment and Schary leaning toward what Mayer derided as darker "message pictures". "Films must provoke thought in addition to entertainment", Schary once said. "They must educate and inform as they entertain."[16]
Schary's career at MGM got off to a strong start whenBattleground (1949) proved to be MGM's most profitable film of the year. A 1949 profile called him a "boy wonder... very probably the most important man in the movie industry."[8] Schary also received acclaim for his personal productions, includingThe Next Voice You Hear... (1950),Go for Broke! (1951) andWestward the Women (1951). Schary co-wrote (with Charles Palmer) the 1950 bookCase History of a Movie, which extensively covered, from initial conception to screening, the production of the filmThe Next Voice You Hear....
Mayer and Schary's differences came to a head with the production ofThe Red Badge of Courage (1951). Mayer presented an ultimatum toNick Schenck, head of Loews, that Schary be fired. Schenck supported Schary and Mayer resigned. In July 1951 Schary took over complete control of production at MGM.[17]
Schary's personal productions started losing money:Washington Story (1952),Plymouth Adventure (1952), andDream Wife (1953). HoweverTake the High Ground! (1953) andBad Day at Black Rock (1955) were moderately successful. Schary also wrote and produced the documentary filmThe Battle of Gettysburg (1955), getting two Oscar nominations for his work.
At MGM, Schary greenlighted such films asBlackboard Jungle (1955),The Teahouse of the August Moon andDon't Go Near the Water which all proved to be big successes at the box office.[18]
In Schary's last year at MGM he personally produced three films, all of which lost money:The Swan (1956),The Last Hunt (1956) andDesigning Woman (1957). MGM recorded a loss in 1956 leading to Loews firing him from his $200,000 annual contract and replacing him withBen Thau. He was to remain as a consultant for MGM until 1968 at $100,000 a year.[19] Contemporary newspaper reports and Schary later claimed he was fired because of his political activities, including his close association with the Democratic Party.[20]
In 1956, his final year running MGM, he appeared on the showThis Is Your Life. HostRalph Edwards stated that there had never been a show where more stars appeared to honor a guest. However, MGM swimming starEsther Williams would later state in her 1999 autobiographyThe Million Dollar Mermaid that Schary was just as rude, cruel, and as imperious as Mayer had been. She noted that she thought it appropriate that Schary was fired on Thanksgiving, since he was a "turkey".
Following his departure from MGM, Schary obtained the rights to the life ofFranklin D. Roosevelt in April 1957.[21] He wrote and produced the Broadway playSunrise at Campobello (1958–59), about Roosevelt, starringRalph Bellamy. The play won fiveTony Awards and ran for 556 performances.[22]
Schary returned to Hollywood when he wrote and produced the filmLonelyhearts (1958), starringMontgomery Clift and directed byVincent J. Donehue.[23]
Schary had another Broadway hit when he produced and directed (but did not write) the comedyA Majority of One (1959–60) byLeonard Spigelgass, starringGertrude Berg andCedric Hardwicke. Schary earned a Tony nomination for his direction and the show ran for 556 performances. (It was later filmed, without Schary's involvement.)
Less successful wasThe Highest Tree (1959), which Schary wrote, produced and directed (and featuredRobert Redford in the cast[24]) andTriple Play (1959), a collection of short plays, which he produced.[25]
Schary wrote and produced thefilm version ofSunrise at Campobello, which was released byWarner Brothers, directed by Donehue, in 1960. He also had a brief uncredited role in the film as Chairman of the Connecticut Delegation.[26]
On Broadway, Schary had another huge hit as producer and director with theMeredith Willson musical,The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960) starringTammy Grimes, which ran for 532 performances. MGM released a film version starringDebbie Reynolds in 1964.[27]
Schary wrote, produced and directedThe Devil's Advocate (1961), based on the novel byMorris West, which ran for 116 performances.[28] He produced and directedSomething About a Soldier (1962) by Ernest Kinoy[29] andLove and Kisses (1963) by Anita Block[30] both which had short runs. He also wrote a memoir,For Special Occasions (1962).[31]
Schary made his directorial debut in movies withAct One (1963) based on the memoirs ofMoss Hart; Schary also wrote and produced. It was a flop and marked both the beginning and the end of Schary's film directing career.
On Broadway Schary wrote, produced and directedOne by One (1964), which ran for seven performances,[32] and produced and directed the musical,The Zulu and the Zayda (1965) which went for 179.[33] Schary also wrote two more produced Broadway plays,Brightower (1970) (one performance[34]) andHerzl (1976) (8 performances),[35] neither of which had long runs.
Schary wrote his memoirs,Heyday, which came out shortly before his death.[36] In an interview, he said "I've always had an edge and the edge is that I'm a writer. No matter what happens I can write. And I'm tough. You had to be tough to outwit them, to wear them down. I've always been pretty lucky that way."[37]
Although Schary was one of the studio executives who formulated the 1947Waldorf Statement, he became an outspoken opponent of the anticommunist investigations of theHouse Un-American Activities Committee. In 1948, he was honored by theAnti-Defamation League for "distinguished contributions toward the enrichment of America's democratic legacy," together withCharles E. Wilson,Eleanor Roosevelt,Barney Balaban, andDarryl Zanuck.[38]
Schary served as National Chairman of the Anti-Defamation League ofB'nai B'rith from 1963 until April 22, 1969, when Samuel Dalsimer was elected the new National Chairman.[39] After Dalsimer died unexpectedly later that year on August 22, Schary was named acting National Chairman and served until May 1970, when Seymour Graubard was elected to replace him.[40][41] Schary was appointed by MayorJohn Lindsay to the office of New York City Commissioner for Cultural Affairs.[42]
Schary worked as a printer in his youth at Art Craft Press in Newark, New Jersey. He married Miriam Svet, a pianist and painter, on March 5, 1932. The couple had three children: the novelist and memoiristJill Schary Robinson, psychoanalyst Dr. Joy Schary, and CLIO award-winning producer Jeb Schary. Miriam and Dore Schary had seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.[citation needed]
Dore Schary died in 1980, aged 74, and was interred in the Hebrew Cemetery (also known as the Monmouth Fields Jewish Cemetery[43]),West Long Branch, New Jersey. Miriam Svet Schary died on October 2, 1986, aged 74, and was interred next to her husband in the Hebrew Cemetery.[citation needed]
To honor his memory, the Anti-Defamation League established the Dore Schary Awards in 1982 "to recognize outstanding student film and video productions addressing themes related to ADL's mission."[44]
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