Rose Leiman Goldemberg | |
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| Born | Rose Marion Leiman (1928-05-17)May 17, 1928 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 21, 2025(2025-07-21) (aged 97) Cape May, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter, author, poet |
| Notable awards | Writers Guild of America Award,[1] 2Emmy Award Nominations,[1][2]Humanitas Prize Nomination,[1][3]American Women in Radio and Television Award,[3] Humanitarian Award for Drama[3][4] |
| Spouse | |
Rose Marion Leiman Goldemberg (May 17, 1928 – July 21, 2025) was an American playwright, screenwriter, poet and author of fiction and non-fiction books and stories.
Goldemberg'sLetters Home, about the life ofSylvia Plath and her mother, has been translated into numerous languages and been honored all over the world.[3] LikeLetters Home, Goldemberg's plays frequently incorporate biographical material, as withSophie (1987), about entertainerSophie Tucker; andPicon Pie (2004), aboutYiddish theater actressMolly Picon. Her plays have been produced widelyoff-Broadway, in venues throughout the United States, and internationally.[5]
Goldemberg's most prominent work for television wasThe Burning Bed (1984), a TV movie based on the true story of a survivor of domestic violence, played byFarrah Fawcett. Another well-known television movie written by Goldemberg,Stone Pillow (1985), starredLucille Ball as a homeless woman. Other screenplays written by Goldemberg includeLand of Hope (1976), andMother and Daughter: The Loving War (1980). Goldemberg was more involved with the production and filming of television movies, mini-series, and shows than is typical for screenwriters, making cast recommendations and visiting the sets. Most of her screenplays are dramas.
Goldemberg also taught the subjects of English and Theater at theCity College of New York andFairleigh Dickinson University. She was a published author of such books asAdios, Hollywood andAntique Jewelry: A Practical & Passionate Guide. She was also an award-winning poet and author of short stories.[3]
Rose Leiman was born on May 17, 1928 in thePort Richmond neighborhood ofStaten Island, New York.[6] She started writing at the age of five, and enteredBrooklyn College in 1944 at the age of 16. After receiving her BA (magna cum laude) from Brooklyn College, she attendedOhio State University on a teaching assistantship and received her MA.[7] Upon graduating she started working at the newly formedTV Guide, where she reviewed TV scripts and wrote plot summaries. It was there that she decided to become a screenwriter. She studied at theAmerican Theatre Wing andColumbia University,[7] and studied underLee Strasberg and Ira Cirker. She began her screenwriting career by writing religious TV scripts for Pamela Ilott at CBS.
Goldemberg'sGandhiji was chosen for the O'Neill Conference in 1970. At the time, she was a mother and a full-time teacher, along with being a playwright.[8]Gandhiji premiered in 1977 at Back Alley's downtown studio, 617 F St. NW, Washington D.C.[9] It garnered a Robby Award,[3] and helped to establish Goldemberg as a dramatist.[10]Gandhiji was also honored in Burns Mantle's "Best Plays of 1982-1983."[3]
Land of Hope was a pilot for a television series written by Goldemberg, which aired on theCBS network in 1976. It was about the immigrant experience in the United States.Land of Hope was Goldemberg's break into the television industry.[11] Goldemberg's playLetters Home premiered as part of the Women's Project atthe American Place Theatre in New York City in 1979. It dramatizes the correspondence between authorSylvia Plath and her mother. It was later staged at the Theatre at New End in London; Playbox Theatre in Melbourne; and in Paris; Copenhagen; Montreal; Tel Aviv; Los Angeles; and other cities. In 1986, French feminist film directorChantal Akerman directed it for film.[12]
Goldemberg'sMother and Daughter: The Loving War is a TV movie first broadcast on the CBS network in 1980, which was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Best Drama Award.[12] Goldemberg's television movieBorn Beautiful was broadcast on theNBC network in 1982. The work took a critical view of the modeling industry.[12]
Goldemberg wrote the screenplay and co-produced the television filmThe Burning Bed, which was originally broadcast by theNBC network in 1984. It was based on the true story ofFrancine Hughes, played byFarrah Fawcett, a victim of domestic violence who killed her abuser by setting their bed on fire. The movie earned very high ratings, was rebroadcast many times, and sparked public discourse about domestic violence. The screenplay won theWriters Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Adaptation and was nominated forEmmy and Humanitas Awards.[12]
Stone Pillow is a television movie written by Goldemberg, which originally aired on theCBS network in 1985. It starredLucille Ball in the dramatic role of a homeless woman living on the streets of New York City.[12]Stone Pillow ranked as one of the top 10 highest rated telecasts the week that it aired.[13]Death at Dinner, a comedy, which aired on thePBS network in 1985, was a segment of The Booth television series written by Goldemberg.[12]
Goldemberg'sSophie, a musical about the life of American singer and actressSophie Tucker, was first staged at the Jewish Repertory Theater, starring Judith Cohen, in 1987.[12] Goldemberg wrote the television movieDark Holiday, which aired on theNBC network in 1989. It tells the true story of an American woman kidnapped in Turkey.[12]
Goldemberg's musicalPicon Pie opened in Santa Monica, CA at the Santa Monica Playhouse April 6, 2002[14] and starred Barbara Minkus asMolly Picon. The production toured throughout the country, appearing off-Broadway at theDR2 Theater on July 15, 2005, in New York City, moving to theLamb's Theatre on February 17, 2005. It closed on June 2, 2005.[15]
In 2011, Goldemberg was interviewed by NY Women in Film and Television. In the interview, Goldemberg talks about how she broke into television and shares stories about the experiences she had while working in the industry.[11] Goldemberg's work has been archived in theNew York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, which houses one of the world's largest collections of materials relating to the performing arts.[16]
She was married to Raymond Schiller in 1949, and divorced in 1968.[6] In 1969, she married Robert Goldemberg, a chemist, who she divorced in 1989.[6] Goldemberg had one son and three stepchildren.[6] Goldemberg died inCape May, New Jersey on July 21, 2025, at the age of 97.[17][6]
+ denotes award nomination, ++ denotes first-place award
+ denotes award nomination, ++ denotes first-place award
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