Roland Kibbee (15 February 1914 in

Monongahela, Pennsylvania Monongahela, referred to locally as Mon City, is a third class city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is about south of Pittsburgh proper. The population was 4 ...

– 5 August 1984 in

Encino, California Encino (Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda ...

) was an award-winning American screenwriter and producer. He was a frequent collaborator and friend of actor-producer Burt Lancaster.

Career

Kibbee began his career writing for radio in 1931, working with Jack Lescoulie, and later collaborated with

Nat Hiken Nathan Hiken (June 23, 1914 – December 7, 1968) was an American radio and television writer, producer, and songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1950s. Early years Hiken was born on June 23, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Jewish p ...

, writing for the series '' The Grouch Club'', which starred Lescoulie. After this, Kibbee worked on

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

's staff and wrote for Groucho Marx, before serving in the U.S. Air Force during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Following his military service, he collaborated with Joseph Fields to write the screenplay for the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

1946 film ''

A Night in Casablanca ''A Night in Casablanca'' is a 1946 film starring the Marx Brothers: (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx and Chico Marx). The picture was directed by Archie Mayo, and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee. ...

''. He frequently worked on films for Burt Lancaster, including '' The Crimson Pirate'' (1952), '' Vera Cruz'' (1954), '' The Devil's Disciple'' (1959), and '' Valdez Is Coming'' (1971). For a time they teamed to form " Norlan Productions". Together they wrote, produced and directed '' The Midnight Man'' (1974). Some of his best-known films were ''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946), '' The Crimson Pirate'' (1952), ''

The Appaloosa ''The Appaloosa'' (also known as ''Southwest to Sonora'') is a 1966 American Western film starring Marlon Brando, Anjanette Comer and John Saxon, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a Mexican ...

'' (1966) and '' Valdez Is Coming'' (1971). Prominent TV producer and writer Norman Lear also acknowledged that while he would sometimes do the opening monologues for The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, Kibbee was in fact the show's main writer. In a 2015 interview with Variety, Lear credited both Kibbee and Hiken as his two mentors. He also wrote for TV shows, among them '' The Virginian'', '' It Takes a Thief'' (which he created) and '' Columbo''. Kibbee won Emmy awards for his work on the short-lived 1961 series ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a p ...

'', ''Columbo'' and ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...

''.

HUAC Informer

In the early '50s, Kibbee was named as a former member of the Communist party by screenwriter Martin Berkeley along with 155 others. Kibbee had become a member in 1937, "by way of the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and out three years later by way of the Nazi-Soviet Pact" He was also named by his colleague and Hecht-Lancaster executive

Harold Hecht Harold Adolphe Hecht (June 1, 1907 – May 26, 1985) was an American film producer, dance director and talent agent. He was also, though less noted for, a literary agent, a theatrical producer, a theatre director and a Broadway actor. He was a m ...

. Kibbee was then required to testify before the committee which he did, believing to have mostly named those who had named him. Kibbee broke off with Hecht but continued to work for the company on a freelance basis. He retained his friendship with Lancaster, allegedly warning to distance himself from Hecht. Lancaster had been a vocal critic of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Kibbee is one of the interview subjects in ''Naming Names'', the definitive history of the Hollywood Blacklist by journalist

Victor Navasky Victor Saul Navasky (born July 5, 1932) is an American journalist, editor and academic. He is publisher emeritus of ''The Nation'' and George T. Delacorte Professor Emeritus of Professional Practice in Magazine Journalism at Columbia University. H ...

. The author discovered that like many who had testified, Kibbee was mistaken and had in fact given names that were not previously known to the committee.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kibbee, Roland 1914 births 1984 deaths People from Monongahela, Pennsylvania American male screenwriters Television producers from Pennsylvania American television writers Emmy Award winners American male television writers 20th-century American businesspeople Screenwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters