Jerome Chodorov

Jerome Chodorov was briefly a journalist in 1930, but he began his dramatic writing career in film as a scenarist. In Hollywood, he met Joseph Fields and together they collaborated on many plays, librettos and screenplays. One of their many Broadway successes was My Sister Eileen, which was directed by George S. Kaufman and starred Shirley Booth. They co-authored the screenplay for My Sister Eileen, which was released in 1942 starring Rosalind Russel and Janet Blair. They also collaborated on the libretto of its musical adaptation, Wonderful Town, with music by Leonard Bernstein, also starring Rosalind Russel. It received rave reviews and won seven Tony Awards including Best Authors (Musical) in 1953. Mr. Chodorov's first screenplay was The Case of the Lucky Legs, a Perry Mason whodunit released in 1935. He wrote around 18 screenplays during this period leading up to Happy Anniversary in 1959, which he co-authored with Mr. Fields and was based on their Broadway play Anniversary Waltz. Throughout the years, Mr. Chodorov directed plays, including the Broadway productions of The Gazebo (1958) and Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole (1961).

Education and Training
George Washington High Schools, New York, New York

Teachers and Influences
Joseph Fields (collaborator), adapted work by Ruth McKenny, Sally Benson, Eudora Welty

Connection to Bucks County
In the 1940s, Jerome Chodorov and his wife, Rhea, had a house built for them on a hillside off Route 202 in Lahaska, which they dubbed "The Hill." It was designed by Lambertville architect Jules Gregory and was used primarily as a summer home. The book to the musical Wonderful Town was written at Moss Hart's Fairview Farm, as was the play Anniversary Waltz, which starred Kitty Carlisle. The musical revue Pretty Penny, co-authored by Chodorov and Fields, was directed by George S. Kaufman and produced at the Bucks County Playhouse in 1949. The Chodorovs participated in the local social scene that included George and Beatrice Kaufman, Moss and Kitty Carlisle Hart, Ruth and Augustus Goetz and Oscar Hammerstein II. Chodorov, in a 1996 interview remembered a time of intense socializing, and that "they all played a vicious a game of croquet together." Their socializing surrounded a theatrical world rich in collaboration. Chodorov and Fields' Broadway play, Junior Miss, was directed by Moss Hart, and My Sister Eileen was directed by George S. Kaufman.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Oscar Hammerstein II, Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart, Ruth and Augustus Goetz, George Kaufman, Sam and Bella Spewack, Shirley Booth

Novels and Short Stories
The Happiest Man in the World

Screenplays
The Case of the Lucky Legs, a Perry Mason whodunit, 1935
Dancing Feet, 1936
Gentleman from Louisiana, 1936
All Over Town, 1937
Devil's Playground, 1937
Reported Missing, 1937
Blonde Inspiration, 1938
Conspiracy, 1939
Dulcy, 1939
Murder in the Big House, 1942
Those Endearing Charms, 1945
Man From Texas, 1948
Co-authored with Joseph Fields:
Rich Man, Poor Girl, starring Robert Young and Lana Turner, 1938
Two Girls on Broadway, 1940
Louisiana Purchase, 1941
My Sister Eileen, 1942, starring Rosalind Russel
Junior Miss, 1945
Happy Anniversary, 1959

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Captain in the United States Army Forces, 1942-1945
Playwright in Residence, State University of New York, 1972-1973

Major Awards
Best New Musical, Wonderful Town, Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Outer Circle Award, 1953
Best Authors (musical), Wonderful Town, 1953

Affiliations and Memberships
Bucks County Playhouse
Actor's Equity Association
Dramatists Guild (council member 1949-1955)
SWG, council member 1938-1939
Directors Guild of America
Authors League of America
Writers Guild of America West

Teleplay
Talent, Showtime Cable, 1984

Plays
Co-authored with Joseph Fields on Broadway:
Schoolhouse on the Lot, 1938
My Sister Eileen, 1940, directed by George Kaufmann
Junior Miss, 1941, directed by Moss Hart
The French Touch, 1945
Anniversary Waltz, 1954, starring Kitty Carlisle
The Ponder Heart, adapted from a Eudora Welty novel, 1956

On Broadway
Three Bags Full, 1966
A Talent for Murder, with Norman Panama, 1983
Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley, 1945
A Community of Two, National Theatre, Washington, D.C., 1974

Librettos on Broadway
Wonderful Town, co-authored with Joseph Fields, 1953, starring Rosalind Russel and based on the play My Sister Eileen
The Girl in Pink Tights, with Joseph Fields, 1954
I Had a Ball, 1964

Librettos
Pretty Penny, Bucks County Playhouse, 1940
Dumas and Son, Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, 1967
Boffola!, California, 1984