American playwright and novelist George Sklar (1908–1988) was a pioneer of 1930s' Social Protest Theater and a co-founder of the Theater Union, an organization that staged plays for working-class audiences during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Many of Sklar's works emphasized social and political themes such as racial and union conflicts,

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

, and

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

. Sklar was blacklisted from Hollywood in 1949 due to his affiliation with the American Communist Party.

Early life and education

The son of Ezak and Bertha Sklar, the playwright was born on May 31, 1908, in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1929 before pursuing graduate study in drama. On August 22, 1935, Sklar married dancer and choreographer Miriam Blecher, with whom he had three children.

Career

Early career and blacklist

Sklar began his theatrical career under the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

’s Federal Theater Project, writing his first play, ''Merry-Go-Round'', in 1932 with Albert Maltz. During the early 1940s, Sklar also worked as a screenwriter. In 1947, Sklar published his first novel, ''The Two Worlds of Johnny Truro'', a bestseller that was later adapted into a movie by

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

. The next year, Sklar was blacklisted from Hollywood after refusing to testify before the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

regarding his alleged

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

affiliation. Blecher then became their household’s primary breadwinner, teaching modern dance classes in order to earn the income that her husband could no longer generate in the entertainment industry.

Post-blacklist

After the blacklist was lifted in the 1960s, Sklar resumed his theatrical career, producing several plays, including ''And People All Around'' (1967), which was based on the real-life murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. ''Life and Death of an American'', the last play ever staged by the Federal Theater Project. Sklar’s final play, ''Brown Pelican'' (1972), commented on the planet’s emerging

ecological crisis An ecological or environmental crises occurs when changes to the environment of a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. Some of the important causes include: * Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, increa ...

. In addition to works of theater, Sklar wrote several novels dealing with themes of social justice. These works include ''The Two Worlds of Johnny Truro'' (1947), T''he Promising Young Men'' (1951), and ''The Identity of Dr. Frazier'' (1962).

Death

On May 15, 1988, Sklar died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 79.

List of works

Novels

* ''The Two Worlds of Johnny Truro'' (1947) * ''The Promising Young Men'' (1951) * ''The Identity of Dr. Frazier'' (1962)

Plays

* ''Merry-Go-Round'' (1932); with Albert Maltz * ''Peace on Earth'' (1933) * ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' (1935) (wrote sketches and lyrics); with Kyle Crichton and Paul Peters * ''Stevedore'' (1934) * ''Life and Death of an American'' (1939) * ''Laura'' (1947); with Vera Caspary (based on the novel ''

Laura Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay on ...

'' by Caspary) * ''And People All Around'' (1967) * ''Brown Pelican'' (1972)

Screenplays

* ''

First Comes Courage ''First Comes Courage'' is a 1943 American war film, the final film directed by Dorothy Arzner, one of the few female directors in Hollywood at the time. The film was based on the 1943 novel ''Commandos'' by Elliott Arnold, adapted by George Skla ...

'' (1943); with Lewis Meltzer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sklar, George 1908 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American novelists Hollywood blacklist People from Meriden, Connecticut