Claude Binyon

Claude Binyon(October 17, 1905Chicago, Illinois– February 14, 1978Glendale, California) was ascreenwriteranddirector.His genres werecomedy,musicals,andromances.

As aChicago-basedjournalistfor theExaminernewspaper, he became city editor of the show business trade magazineVarietyin the late 1920s. According to Robert Landry, who worked atVarietyfor 50 years including as managing editor,^[1]Binyon came up with the famous 1929stock market crashheadline, "Wall Street Lays An Egg."^[2](However, writer Ken Bloom ascribes the headline toVarietypublisherSime Silverman.)^[3]

He switched from writing about movies forVarietyto screenwriting for the Paramount Studio with 1932'sIf I Had A Million;his laterscreenwritingcredits includedThe Gilded Lily(1935),Sing You Sinners(1938), andArizona(1940). Throughout the 1930s, Binyon's screenplays were often directed byWesley Ruggles,including the "classic"True Confession(1938).^[4]Fourteen feature films by Ruggles had screenplays by Binyon. Claude Binyon was also the scriptwriter for the second series of theBing Crosby Entertainsradio show (1934-1935).

In 1948, Binyon made his directorial bow withThe Saxon Charm(1948), for which he also wrote the screenplay. He went on to write and direct the low-key comedynoirStella(1950),Mother Didn't Tell Me(1950),Aaron Slick of Pun'kin Crick(1952), and theClifton WebbfarceDreamboat(1952). He directed, but didn't write,Family Honeymoon(1949) as well asBob Hope's sole venture into3-D,Here Come the Girls(1953).

After his death on February 14, 1978, he was buried at theForest Lawn Memorial ParkinGlendale, California.

Selected filmography

Cross My Heart(1946)
Mother Didn't Tell Me(1950)
Kisses for My President(1964) (co-writer)

References

^"Robert John Landry, Editor, 87 (obituary)".New York Times.May 25, 1991.RetrievedApril 15,2016.
^"The Americanization of English".Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph.March 17, 1977.RetrievedApril 15,2016.
^Bloom, Ken (2003).Broadway: An Encyclopedia.Routledge. p. 539.ISBN 978-0415937047.RetrievedApril 15,2016.
^Milberg, Doris (2013).The Art of the Screwball Comedy: Madcap Entertainment from the 1930s to Today.McFarland. p. 23.ISBN 9780786467815.Producer and director are two of the hats he wore, but he is best known for his credits as a writer. For several films, he teamed with director Wesley Ruggles....The Ruggles-Binyon team produced such classics asThe Gilded Lady,The Bride Comes Home,True Confession,I Met Him in Paris,You Belong to Me,andToo Many Husbands.