Eleanor Perry | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eleanor Rosenfeld October 13, 1914 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 14, 1981(1981-03-14) (aged 66) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Western Reserve University |
| Occupation(s) | screenwriter,novelist |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingWilliam Bayer |
Eleanor Perry (néeRosenfeld; nom-de-plumeOliver Weld Bayer, October 13, 1914 – March 14, 1981) was an American screenwriter and author.[1]
Film critic Charles Champlin fondly remembered Perry as one of thefeminists who took part in a protest demonstration where red paint was thrown on promotional posters for the filmRoma at the 1972Cannes Film Festival,[2] which consisted of an exaggerated nude photo pun on theRoman foundation myth. The outspoken Eleanor Perry was an advocate for women's rights and screenwriters' recognition, often criticizing the film industry.[3]
Born and raised to a Jewish family[4] inCleveland, Ohio, she attendedWestern Reserve University, where she wrote for the college's literary magazine.[5] With her first husband, attorneyLeo G. Bayer, she wrote a series of suspense novels, includingPaper Chase (1942), made into the movieDangerous Partners in 1945. After earning a master's degree in psychiatricsocial work, she began to write plays, enjoying Broadway success in 1958 withThird Best Sport, a collaboration with her husband. The two were divorced shortly after.
Before working with Frank Perry, Eleanor had published numerous articles, plays and novels includingThird Best Sport, produced on Broadway.[2]
She won anEmmy award for her television screenplay adaptation ofTruman Capote'sA Christmas Memory.[1] Perry and her then-husband were responsible for 1968'sThe Swimmer,Diary of a Mad Housewife and theAcademy Award-nominated independent filmDavid and Lisa.[6]
Perry was also a journalist and novelist who pennedBlue Pages, a semi-autobiographical novel about her time writing screenplays in Hollywood and her marriage to Frank Perry.[2]
In 1977, she was among the first wave of honorees of theWomen in FilmCrystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.[7]
Also in 1977, Perry became an associate of theWomen's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP).[8] WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication among women and connect the public with forms of women-based media.
In 1960, she married aspiring film directorFrank Perry, with whom she formed a long-lasting professional partnership. Their first film, the low-budgetDavid and Lisa, for which she drew upon her psychiatric background, earned the coupleAcademy Award nominations for writing and direction. In 1966, she andTruman Capote adapted his novellaA Christmas Memory for the anthology seriesABC Stage 67, which earned her the first of twoEmmy Awards. The second was forThe House Without a Christmas Tree in 1972.
Following her divorce from Perry in 1971, she wrote aroman à clef about her marriage, incorporating many of the problems she faced as a female screenwriter in Hollywood into her 1979 novelBlue Pages. In 1972, she was head of the jury at the22nd Berlin International Film Festival.[9]
Her sonWilliam Bayer is a prize-winning crime fiction writer.
On March 14, 1981, she died of cancer in New York City.[10] Seventeen years after her death, she received screen credit again when her original screenplay ofDavid and Lisa was refilmed for television.
