Jo Swerling

Jo Swerling (April 8, 1897 - October 23, 1964) was an American theatre writer and lyricist and a screenwriter. Born in Bardichov, Russia, Swerling was a refugee of the Czarist regime who grew up on New York City's lower East Side, where he sold newspapers to help support his family. He worked as a newspaper and magazine writer in the early 1920s, then launched a playwriting career, including "Street Cinderella," an early comedy for the Marx Broth... more

Jo Swerling (April 8, 1897 - October 23, 1964) was an American theatre writer and lyricist and a screenwriter. Born in Bardichov, Russia, Swerling was a refugee of the Czarist regime who grew up on New York City's lower East Side, where he sold newspapers to help support his family. He worked as a newspaper and magazine writer in the early 1920s, then launched a playwriting career, including "Street Cinderella," an early comedy for the Marx Brothers. He also wrote their first movie, the unreleased silent comedy short film Humor Risk (1921). He scored a major success with the book and lyrics for the 1927 musical revue The New Yorkers and the 1929 play The Kibitzer, which he co-wrote with actor Edward G. Robinson. Swerling was brought to Hollywood by Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn to work on the screenplay for the 1930 Frank Capra film Ladies of Leisure, the first of several collaborations with the director. His dozens of screenplays in the 1930s and 40s include Platinum Blonde,... less