American screenwriter
Al Boasberg
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Born
| Albert Isaac Boasberg
(
1891-12-05
)
December 5, 1891
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Died
| June 18, 1937
(1937-06-18)
(aged 45)
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Resting place
| Forest Lawn Cemetery
,
Buffalo, New York
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Occupation(s)
| Screenwriter, film director
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Years active
| 1926-1937
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Family
| James Michaels
(nephew)
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Albert Isaac Boasberg
(December 5, 1891
[1]
– June 18, 1937) was an American
comedy
writer in
vaudeville
,
radio
, and
film
, as well as being a
film director
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Boasberg was born in
Buffalo, New York
in a
Jewish
family. He is credited with helping to create American
stand-up comedy
when he teamed with then-youthful
vaudeville
performer
Jack Benny
, helping develop Benny's familiar, reactive skinflint and thus helping make Benny a major star when he transitioned to radio in 1932. In fact, on the last day before his death, Boasberg wrote the lines that introduced the enduring
Rochester
character on Benny's radio show.
Similarly, Boasberg defined the enduring personalities of
Bob Hope
,
Burns and Allen
,
Wheeler and Woolsey
and
Leon Errol
. He was one of the early "script doctors", earning $1,000 a week to punch up radio scripts.
Boasberg also wrote, both credited and uncredited, for more than 60 short films and features between 1926 and 1937. Of especial note is his work on 1935's
A Night at the Opera
, which provided
The Marx Brothers
with a commercial comeback on the screen. Another Marxian, the comedy producer
Sid Kuller
, started out as a ghost-gag-writer for Boasberg.
[2]
Boasberg's other film writing credits included
The General
(starring
Buster Keaton
). A disagreement over screenwriting credit led to Boasberg's name being removed from the Marx Brothers’ second MGM film
A Day at the Races
(1937), which was his original project.
He directed the 1933 feature film
Myrt and Marge
which featured
Ted Healy
and his
Three Stooges
. He also directed 16 short films between 1929 and 1936, which included six
Leon Errol
two-reelers, four starring
Walter Catlett
, and
Jail Birds of Paradise
with
Dorothy Appleby
,
Moe Howard
and
Curly Howard
.
He died in
Los Angeles, California
, in 1937 from a
heart attack
. He is buried in
Forest Lawn
Cemetery in Buffalo, New York. Al Boasberg was the uncle of
James Michaels
.
In 2009, The Al Boasberg Comedy Award was established by The
Buffalo International Film Festival
.
[3]
Selected filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Other
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