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George Axelrod

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George Axelrod
Born(1922-06-09)June 9, 1922
New York City, U.S.
DiedJune 21, 2003(2003-06-21)(aged 81)
Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Years active1954–87
Spouses
Gloria Washburn
​
​
(m.1942;div.1954)​
Joan Stanton
​
​
(m.1954; died 2001)​
Children4, includingJonathan Axelrod

George Axelrod(June 9, 1922 – June 21, 2003) was an Americanscreenwriter,producer,playwrightandfilm director,best known for his playThe Seven Year Itch(1952), which was adapted into afilm of the same namestarringMarilyn Monroe.Axelrod was nominated for anAcademy Awardfor his1961 adaptationofTruman Capote'sBreakfast at Tiffany'sand alsoadaptedRichard Condon'sThe Manchurian Candidate(1962).

Early life and family

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Axelrod was born in New York City, the son of Beatrice Carpenter, asilent filmactress, and Herman Axelrod, a Columbia graduate who had worked on the school's annualVarsity Showwith Oscar Hammerstein and who later went intoreal estate.[citation needed]His father was Russian Jewish and his mother was of Scottish and English descent.[1]He was the father of lawyer Peter Axelrod; Steven Axelrod, painting contractor and writer;Nina Axelrod,actress; and stepfather of screenwriterJonathan Axelrod(who married the actressIlleana Douglas). George Axelrod is the grandfather of actorTaliesin Jaffe.[citation needed]

Career

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Radio and Broadway

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Early in his career, Axelrod worked in summer stock theater as a stage manager and an occasional actor. DuringWorld War II,he was a member of theU.S. ArmySignal Corps.When he returned to civilian life, he wrote forThe Shadow,Midnight,Grand Ole Opry,and other radio programs. With the advent of television, he wrote for that medium, too, eventually working on more than 400 TV and radio scripts. Comedians for whom he wrote includedJerry LewisandDean Martin[2]Axelrod wrote the 1952 stage comedy,The Seven Year Itch,[3]a risqué social satire about a middle-class man who has an affair while his wife and children are on vacation.The Seven Year Itchwas first presented by Courtney Burr and Elliot Nugent at the Fulton Theatre, New York City, on July 15, 1952.[citation needed]

Television

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Axelrod's overnight success prompted him to write a seriocomic teleplay,Confessions of a Nervous Man,starringArt Carneyas a playwright waiting anxiously in aTheater Districtbar for the newspaper reviews of his first play to hit the streets. Based on his own experiences on the opening night ofThe Seven Year Itch,the one-hour play was presented as the November 30, 1953, episode ofStudio One.He appeared on television himself occasionally as a guest panelist onWhat's My Line?

Films

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The Broadway success ofThe Seven Year Itchled to the successful 1955 film directed byBilly Wilderand starringMarilyn Monroe.The plot was altered so that the husband (Tom Ewell) only fantasizes about having an affair.

Axelrod's next stage hit wasWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter?,[3]aFaustiancomedy about a fan magazine writer (Orson Bean) selling his soul to theDevil(in the guise of aliterary agent) to become a successfulscreenwriter.It ran for more than a year on Broadway in 1955–56 and received much attention in the national press thanks to its star,Jayne Mansfield.The screen rights were bought by20th Century Fox,but the studio had director/screenwriterFrank Tashlinchange the story to a satire on televisionadvertisingand throw out all of Axelrod's characters except Rita Marlowe (with Mansfield recreating her stage role). Axelrod was contemptuous of the1957 film version,saying that he did not go to see it because the studio "never used my story, my play or my script."

In 1959–60,Lauren Bacallstarred in his comic playGoodbye Charliewhich ran for 109 performances, followed bya film versionwithDebbie Reynolds.During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Axelrod was one of the best paid screenwriters in Hollywood, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for his 1961 adaptation ofTruman Capote'sBreakfast at Tiffany's.He was highly regarded for his adaptation ofRichard Condon's novel for directorJohn Frankenheimer's Cold War thrillerThe Manchurian Candidate(1962) starringLaurence HarveyandFrank Sinatra.Axelrod, who co-produced, considered it his best screen adaptation. After the assassination of PresidentJohn F. Kennedyin November 1963, the movie was taken out of circulation and wasn't re-released until 1988, when it became a box office hit and was deemed by critics to be a classic of American cinema.

Axelrod wrote the original screenplay forHow to Murder Your Wife(1965), directed byRichard QuinewithJack Lemmon,Virna LisiandTerry-Thomas.Axelrod directedLord Love a Duck(1966), and two years later, he directedThe Secret Life of an American Wife(1968). After a decade hiatus, he returned to films providing the screenplay for an unsuccessful remake ofThe Lady Vanishes(1979). Subsequent contributions include the scripts for Frankenheimer'sThe Holcroft Covenant(1985) andThe Fourth Protocol(1987).

Novels

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Axelrod published three novels:Blackmailer(1952), a darkly comic mystery;Beggar's Choice(1947), a comedy of role reversal; andWhere Am I Now When I Need Me?(1971),[3]a humorous overview of the Hollywood scene.

Death

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On June 21, 2003, at the age of 81, Axelrod died quietly at his Los Angeles home.[3][2]He was under hospice care after a lingering illness. His body was cremated.[citation needed]

Filmography

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Film adaptations

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Screenwriter

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Director

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Producer

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References

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  1. ^George Axelrod Biography (1922-) University of California Press: "George Axelrod: Irony!" Interview by Pat McGilligan
  2. ^abThurber, Jon (June 22, 2003)."George Axelrod, 81; Wrote for Radio, Stage and Screen".The Los Angeles Times.California, Los Angeles. p. B 14.RetrievedApril 1,2020– viaNewspapers.
  3. ^abcdJones, Kenneth (June 22, 2003)."George Axelrod, Seven Year Itch Playwright, Dead at 81".Playbill.RetrievedApril 8,2024.
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