Mortimer Offner (November 3, 1900 – September 1965) was an American photographer, political activist, and screenwriter. He created portraits of leading film stars before successfully moving to screenwriting. His career ended when he was
blacklisted
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...
because he was a communist.
Life
Offner was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on November 3, 1900.
[Mortimer Offner]
Social Security Death Index. Retrieved October 23, 2015. His parents were of Austrian Jewish descent and they ran a dressmaking business and lived with Mortimer's aunt on
East 54th street. The household also included his brother,
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, and his cousin, dancer, and artist
Stella Bloch.
[Coomaraswamy, Ananda Kentish, 1877-1947]
Princeton University Library. Retrieved October 23, 2015. Offner had a university education before he attended the
Clarence White School of Photography. After trying acting, he became a photographer taking portraits on Broadway.
[ Offner and his brother are credited with helping their cousin in launching her career.][
Offner's career was transformed when he was encouraged to move to Hollywood by actress ]Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...
in 1932. While there, he discovered that he had a talent for screenwriting, and his photography ended in 1934.[Mortimer Offner]
broadway.cas.sc.edu. Retrieved October 23, 2015
Offner notably worked on '' Alice Adams''. Dorothy Yost and Jane Murfin had created a script, but the director George Stevens was annoyed that the writers had changed the ending. Stevens' friend, Offner, was called in, and they and Hepburn rewrote it, writing and performing the lines as they wrote. The script was only completed twelve days before the end of the shooting schedule.[
]
Death
Offner died in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in September 1965.[ He was survived by two daughters, Elizabeth Offner (1948-1985) and Deborah Offner.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Offner, Mortimer
1900 births
1965 deaths
Artists from New York (state)
20th-century American photographers