Sidney Buchman
Sidney Robert Buchman (March 27, 1902 – August 23, 1975) was an American screenwriter and film producer who worked on about 40 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He received four Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay for fantasy romantic comedy film Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) along with Seton I. Miller.
Sidney Buchman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sidney Robert Buchman March 27, 1902 Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | August 23, 1975 (aged 73) Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France |
| Other names | Sydney Buchman |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, film producer |
Biography
Born to a Jewish family,[1] in Duluth, Minnesota,[2] and educated at Columbia University, where he was a member of the Philolexian Society, he served as President of the Screen Writers Guild of America in 1941–1942. Buchman was one of the most successful Hollywood screenwriters of the 1930s and 1940s.
His scripts from this period include The Right to Romance (1933), She Married Her Boss (1935), The King Steps Out (1936), Theodora Goes Wild (1936) and Holiday (1938). He would go on to receive Academy Award nominations for his writing on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), and Jolson Sings Again (1949), winning an Oscar for Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). He also did uncredited work on various films during this period, notably The Awful Truth. He was the 1965 recipient of the Laurel Award of the Writers Guild of America, West.
Buchman's refusal to provide the names of American Communist Party members to the House Un-American Activities Committee led to a charge of contempt of Congress. Buchman was fined, given a year's suspended sentence, and was then blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses.
He would return to screenwriting in the 1960s, working on Cleopatra (1963) and The Group (1966).
Personal life
Buchman married twice and had one daughter, Susanna Silver, with his first wife.[2] His granddaughter and grandson are Amanda Silver and Michael B. Silver, respectively. He died in his adopted home in Cannes on August 23, 1975, at the age of 73.
Selected filmography
- The Music Goes 'Round (1936)
- The King Steps Out (1936)
- The Howards of Virginia (1940)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 12th Academy Awards | Best Screenplay | Nominated | |
| 1942 | 14th Academy Awards | Best Screenplay (shared with Seton I. Miller) | Won | |
| 1943 | 15th Academy Awards | Best Screenplay (shared with Irwin Shaw) | Nominated | |
| 1950 | 22nd Academy Awards | Best Story and Screenplay | Jolson Sings Again | Nominated |
| 2nd Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Written Musical | Nominated | ||
| 1952 | 4th Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Written Film Concerning Problems with the American Scene (shared with Millard Lampell) | Nominated | |
Sidney Buchman received a Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement at the 17th Writers Guild of America Awards on March 17, 1965.
References
- Siegel, Lee (November 15, 2013). "We Are What We Hide". The New Yorker.
- "Sidney Buchman, Scenarist, Dead". New York Times. August 25, 1975.