Samuel "Sam" Hoffenstein (8 October 1890 - 6 October 1947) was a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and a musical composer. Born in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and began a career in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

as a newspaper writer and in the entertainment business. In 1931 he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life and wrote the scripts for over thirty movies. These movies included ''

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

'' (1931), '' The Miracle Man'' (1932), '' Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939), ''

Tales of Manhattan ''Tales of Manhattan'' is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart, worked on the six stories in this film. Ba ...

'' (1942), ''

Flesh and Fantasy ''Flesh and Fantasy'' is a 1943 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer, Robert Cummings, and Barbara Stanwyck. The making of this film was inspired by the success of Duvivier's previous ...

'' (1943), ''

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 ...

'' (1944), and

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

's ''

Cluny Brown ''Cluny Brown'' is a 1946 American romantic comedy made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed and produced by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was written by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt based on the 1944 novel by Margery Sharp. The mu ...

'' (1946). In addition, Hoffenstein, along with

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

and Kenneth Webb, helped compose the musical score for ''

Gay Divorce ''Gay Divorce'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein. It was Fred Astaire's last Broadway show and featured the hit song " Night and Day" in which Astaire d ...

'' (1933), the stage musical that became the film '' The Gay Divorcee'' (1934). He died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. A book of his verse, ''Pencil in the Air'', was published three days after his death to critical acclaim. Another book of his work was published in 1928, titled ''Poems in Praise of Practically Nothing''. The book contained some of his work that had been formerly published in the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...

'', the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'', '' Vanity Fair'', the ''D. A. C. News'', and ''Snappy Stories''.

Works

* ''Life Sings A Song'', (1916) * ''Poems In Praise Of Practically Nothing'', (1928) * ''Year In, You're Out'', (1930) * ''A Treasure Of Humorous Verse'', (1946) * ''Pencil In The Air'', (1947) * ''Complete Poetry'', (1954) Source:

References

External links

* * * * 1890 births 1947 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American male screenwriters American people of Russian descent Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States {{US-screen-writer-stub