John Jay Osborn Jr. (August 5, 1945 – October 19, 2022) was an American author, lawyer and legal academic. He is best known for his bestselling novel '' The Paper Chase'' published in 1971.

Early life

Osborn was born in Boston on August 5, 1945. His father, John Jay Sr., was a doctor at

Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Francisco in 1858. This ...

; his mother was Anne (née Kidder). He was a descendant of both

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the f ...

, the first Chief Justice of the United States, and of railroad baron

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

. His family relocated to the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

when Osborn was nine. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in American History from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 1967 and graduated with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

in 1970. He also did graduate work at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & World ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Osborn clerked for Judge

Max Rosenn Max Rosenn (February 4, 1910 – February 7, 2006) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Education and career Born to a Jewish family in Plains, Pennsylvania, Rosenn received a Bachelor o ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * East ...

from 1970 to 1972. He was later an associate attorney with the firm

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, founded in 1919, is a law firm headquartered in New York City. Notable alumni *Former Attorney General of the United States and federal judge Michael B. Mukasey was a partner at the firm before his accession ...

. Osborn taught law at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

, the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

, and the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Scho ...

, from which he retired in 2018. For his third-year writing project at Harvard Law, Osborn wrote '' The Paper Chase'', a fictional account of one

student's battles with the imperious Professor Charles Kingsfield. Osborn found a publisher with the assistance of

William Alfred William Alfred (August 16, 1922 – May 20, 1999) was an American playwright, poet, and professor of English literature at Harvard University. Biography Alfred was born into an Irish family in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a bricklayer and ...

and the book was released in 1971. It was made into a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

two years later, starring

John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with directo ...

and

Timothy Bottoms Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in ''Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971); Sonny Crawford in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cy ...

. Houseman won an

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...

for his performance as contracts professor Kingsfield. ''The Paper Chase'' also became a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, and Osborn wrote several of the scripts. Osborn's third novel, ''The Associates'', was adapted into a short-lived

starring

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

and

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ear ...

. He was also one of the writers (along with Thomas A. Cohen) of the screenplay for the 2010 film version of the 1983 novel ''

The River Why ''The River Why'' is a 1983 novel by David James Duncan. While it starts off as a fishing story, ''The River Why'' turns into the story of a young person struggling to come to grips with the modern world. Plot summary A coming-of-age story nar ...

'' by

David James Duncan David James Duncan (born 1952)
at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library,

...

. His final book, ''Listen to the Marriage'', was published in 2018.

Personal life

Osborn married Emilie Heffron Sisson in 1968. She was a

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and h ...

graduate who worked as a physician with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and they remained married until his death. Together, they had three children, Sam, Meredith (who also attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School) and Shef. Osborn died on October 19, 2022, at his home in San Francisco. He was 77 years old and suffered from squamous cell cancer prior to his death.

Publications

Novels * ''The Paper Chase'' (1971) * ''The Only Thing I've Done Wrong'' (1977) * ''The Associates'' (1979) * ''The Man Who Owned New York'' (1981) * ''Listen to the Marriage'' (2018) Scripts * ''The Paper Chase'' (15 of 54 episodes, 1978–1986) ** "The Man Who Would Be King" (1978) ** "A Day in the Life of..." (1978) ** "Moot Court" (1978) ** "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1978) ** "Scavenger Hunt" (1979) ** "Outline Fever" (1983) ** "Birthday Party" (1983) ** "Plague of Locusts" (1983) ** "Snow" (1983) ** "Mrs. Hart" (1984) ** "War of the Wonks" (1984) ** "Billy Pierce" (1984) (teleplay only) ** "Decisions: Part 1" (1985) ** "Decisions: Part 2" (1985) ** "Honor" (1986) * '' L.A. Law'' (1 episode, 1986–1994) ** "December Bribe" (1987) * '' Spenser: For Hire'' (1 episode, 1985–1988) ** "Substantial Justice" (1988) * ''The River Why'' (2010, with Thomas A. Cohen)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, John Jay Jr. 1945 births 2022 deaths Deaths from squamous cell carcinoma of skin Harvard Law School alumni University of Miami faculty University of San Francisco faculty Yale University faculty Yeshiva University faculty American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler people Novelists from Florida Novelists from Connecticut Novelists from New York (state) Yale Law School alumni Writers from Boston John Jay Vanderbilt family Deaths from cancer in California