Walter Bernstein facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Walter Bernstein
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Bernstein following a 2016 screening of
The Front at the SVA Theater in Manhattan |
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| Born | August 20, 1919 |
| Died | January 23, 2021 (aged 101) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
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| Years active | 1947–2017 |
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| Children | 5; including Andrew and Jake |
Walter Bernstein (born August 20, 1919 – died January 23, 2021) was an American writer and movie producer. He became famous for his work in Hollywood. However, in the 1950s, he was put on a "blacklist" by movie studios. This happened because of his political beliefs at the time.
Some of his most famous movies include The Front (1976), Yanks (1979), and Little Miss Marker (1980). He also won several important awards from the Writers Guild of America. These included the Ian McLellan Hunter award and the Evelyn F. Burkey award.
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Walter Bernstein's Early Life
Walter Bernstein was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 20, 1919. His parents, Hannah and Louis Bernstein, were immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father was a teacher.
He went to Erasmus High School in Flatbush, Brooklyn. After high school, he studied languages in France at the University of Grenoble. While living with a French family there, he first learned about communist ideas.
He returned to the United States and attended Dartmouth College. There, he got his first writing job as a movie reviewer for the school newspaper. He also joined the Young Communist League. He finished college in 1940.
Military Service in World War II
In February 1941, Bernstein joined the U.S. Army. He became a Sergeant and spent most of World War II as a reporter. He wrote for the Army newspaper Yank.
He sent reports from places like Iran, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa, Sicily, and Yugoslavia. He wrote about his experiences in Palestine in an article called "War and Palestine."
Bernstein wrote many articles and stories based on his time in the Army. Some of these first appeared in The New Yorker magazine. These stories were later put together in his first book, Keep Your Head Down, published in 1945.
Walter Bernstein's Career in Hollywood
Walter Bernstein first came to Hollywood in 1947. He had a short contract with writer and producer Robert Rossen at Columbia Pictures. He worked on the movie All the King's Men without getting credit.
After that, he worked for producer Harold Hecht. This led to his first movie credit for Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948). He shared this credit with Ben Maddow.
He then went back to New York. He kept writing for The New Yorker and other magazines. Later, he started writing scripts for early live television shows.
The Hollywood Blacklist Era
In 1950, Walter Bernstein's name appeared in a publication called Red Channels. This happened because of his political beliefs and activities. As a result, Hollywood studios put him on a "blacklist."
This was part of the McCarthy era, when people with communist connections were targeted. Throughout the 1950s, he found ways to keep writing for television. He used fake names or had friends pretend to be the writers.
This way, he wrote for shows like Danger, You Are There, and Colonel March of Scotland Yard.
Returning to Open Screenwriting
Walter Bernstein's movie writing career started to get better when director Sidney Lumet hired him. He wrote the script for the movie That Kind of Woman (1959), starring Sophia Loren.
After this, Bernstein could work openly on films again. These included Paris Blues (1961) and Fail-Safe (1964). He also worked on scripts for The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Train (1964) without getting credit.
Paris Blues was his first movie with director Martin Ritt. Ritt was a friend and also a victim of the Hollywood blacklist. They later worked together on The Molly Maguires (1970) and The Front (1976).
The Front is a drama about a restaurant cashier who pretends to be a writer for blacklisted TV writers. This movie earned Bernstein an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He also won a WGA Award for it. Bernstein even had a small role in Woody Allen's movie Annie Hall (1977).
Bernstein was nominated for other awards, including a BAFTA Award for Yanks (1979). He also directed his only movie, Little Miss Marker (1980). This was a new version of a 1934 film. He also wrote and directed a part of the TV movie Women & Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules (1991).
Teaching and Sharing Knowledge
Walter Bernstein taught screenwriting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He helped students with their writing projects until he passed away in 2021.
He also taught screenwriting at Columbia University School of the Arts in the 1990s.
Walter Bernstein's Book and Personal Life
Bernstein's book, Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist, was published in 1996. In his book, he wrote about joining the Young Communist League in college. He also wrote about joining the Communist Party after leaving the U.S. Army.
Walter Bernstein was married four times. His first three marriages ended in divorce. He married Gloria Loomis in 1988. He had five children: Joan, Peter, Nicholas, Andrew, and Jake. He passed away from pneumonia on January 23, 2021, at 101 years old.
Other Awards and Honors
- In 1994, he received the Ian McLellan Hunter Memorial Award. This award was for his lifetime achievements in writing. It came from the Writers Guild of America East.
- In 2008, the WGAE gave Bernstein their Evelyn F. Burkey Award. This award honors people who have brought dignity to writers everywhere.
Images for kids
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Walter Bernstein at a screening of The Front in 2016.
See also
In Spanish: Walter Bernstein para niños
