Leonardo Bercovici (January 4, 1908,

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, USA – November 22, 1995,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, USA) was an American screenwriter, film director and producer.

Blacklisting and aftermath

Bercovici was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee and blacklisted. He was named by

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s noir films and received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for '' Crossfire'' (1947). In 1947, he was named as one of the Hollywoo ...

and Richard Collins. On May 16, 1951, he swore he was not a member of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

, but invoked his fifth amendment right to incriminate himself when he was asked whether he had been a member in the past. He moved to Europe and worked in the European film industry until about 1958, when it was announced he would write the

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James'', ' ...

film ''Two Against Tomorrow'', but Power's death ended the project.

Personal life

Bercovici was married to Frances Ellis; she died in an apparent suicide on May 23, 1951, while Bercovici was being investigated for Communist activities. Bercovici married Swedish stage and film actress

Märta Torén Märta Torén (21 May 1925 – 19 February 1957) was a Swedish stage and film actress of the 1940s and 1950s. Torén's father was a Swedish military officer, and for three years, during World War II, she was a secretary in the Swedish war offic ...

in June 1952; she died in 1957. They had one daughter, Kristina. His son

Eric Bercovici Eric Bercovici (February 27, 1933 – February 9, 2014) was an American television and film producer and screenwriter. He was best known for producing and adapting the screenplay for the 1980 television miniseries ''Shōgun''. Born in New York ...

became a screenwriter and producer, as did Bercovici's grandson

Luca Bercovici Luca Bercovici (born February 22, 1957) is an American filmmaker, writer, producer and actor. In 1979, as part Bercovici's earliest involvements in filmmaking he spent six months in Japan as a dialogue director for the miniseries, ''Shōgun (1980 ...

Selected credits

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bercovici, Leonardo 1908 births 1995 deaths Writers from Brooklyn Screenwriters from New York (state) Film directors from New York City Film directors from Los Angeles Screenwriters from California Hollywood blacklist 20th-century American screenwriters