George Oppenheimer(1900-1977)
- Writer
- Soundtrack
George Oppenheimer had a prolific career as a playwright, screenwriter, and drama critic. His first job was as advertising publicity manager for the publisher Alfred A. Knopf. A jeweller's son, Oppenheimer moved to Hollywood in 1933 where he was
contracted by the writing team of
George S. Kaufman and
Robert E. Sherwood to
complete the screenplay of
Samuel Goldwyn's spoof comedy
Roman Scandals (1933). Kaufman and
Sherwood had concocted the original story but decided to leave the
project because of star Eddie Cantor's
continued micro-management of their script. For the remainder of the
decade Oppenheimer worked at MGM, where he was often employed as a
script doctor, ironing out incongruities and improving the work of his
fellow writers. He had a hand in several major box-office hits,
including Libeled Lady (1936),
A Day at the Races (1937) and
A Yank at Oxford (1938).
After wartime service with South-East Asia Command (First Motion Picture Unit) in India as writer, producer and director of training films and documentaries, Oppenheimer resumed his work in Hollywood, co-writing Adventures of Don Juan (1948) and scripting twenty-five episodes of the popular comedy series Topper (1953). In 1955, he forsook the screen for a position as drama critic for Newsday, based in New York. From 1970 to 1972, he held a position as president of the New York Drama Critics Circle.
After wartime service with South-East Asia Command (First Motion Picture Unit) in India as writer, producer and director of training films and documentaries, Oppenheimer resumed his work in Hollywood, co-writing Adventures of Don Juan (1948) and scripting twenty-five episodes of the popular comedy series Topper (1953). In 1955, he forsook the screen for a position as drama critic for Newsday, based in New York. From 1970 to 1972, he held a position as president of the New York Drama Critics Circle.
