John Pascal (July 8, 1932 – January 7, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter, author, and journalist.

Education

John Robert Pascal was born on July 8, 1932 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. He received his journalism degree at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Career

Pascal was a playwright and screenwriter. His works included collaboration on the book for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

George M! ''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine ...

'', which was also released on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, and on scripts for the

ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game ...

soap opera ''

The Young Marrieds ''The Young Marrieds'' is an American daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from October 5, 1964 to March 25, 1966. The program was created by James Elward and written by Elward with Frances Rickett. Authors John Pascal and Francine Pascal also ...

''. With his second wife, Pascal worked on various projects including ''The Young Marrieds'' and ''The Strange Case of Patty Hearst''. The Pascals also worked with Ms. Pascal's brother, Broadway playwright and librettist Michael Stewart, writing the book for ''George M!'' Pascal was a novelist, as well, authoring such books as ''The Strange Case of Patty Hearst'', ''The

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

Story'', and ''

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

: The Complete Story of Her Life, Her Loves and Her Death''. Early in his career, he worked as a journalist and an editor for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. He later developed and wrote a weekly Sunday column for New York's ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', which ran until his death.

Personal life

His first wife was poet

Donna J. Stone Donna J. Stone (February 23, 1933 – December 12, 1994) was an American poet and philanthropist. Several of her poems were published individually, both before and after her death, as well as a book of poetry entitled ''Wielder of Words: A Colle ...

, with whom he had a son, Matthew. He later married children's author

Francine Pascal Francine Pascal ('' née'' Rubin, born May 13, 1938) is an American author best known for creating the Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. ''Sweet Valley High'' was the backbone of the collection, and was made into a popular television se ...

Death

Pascal died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

on January 7, 1981.

References

* ''George M!'' (Book by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal: Tams-Witmark, 1968; National Broadcasting Co., 1970) * ''The Strange Case of Patty Hearst'' (John Pascal and Francine Pascal: Signet Books, 1974) * ''The Jean Harlow Story'' (John Pascal: Popular Library, 1964) * ''Marilyn Monroe: The Complete Story of Her Life, Her Loves and Her Death'' (John Pascal: Popular Library, 1962) * ''The Young Marrieds'' (John Pascal and Francine Pascal: American Broadcasting Co., 1964–1966) * ''The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature'' (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005) * ''The New York Times Obituary: John R. Pascal'' (The New York Times Co., 1981) * ''Newsday Obituary: John Robert Pascal'' (Newsday, LLC, 1981)

External links

*
Internet Broadway Database: ''George M!''

Internet Movie Database: ''George M!''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal, John 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters American soap opera writers American columnists Journalists from New York City 1932 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male television writers American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters