John Howard Lawson
| John Howard Lawson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 25, 1894 New York, New York |
| Died | August 11, 1977 (aged 82) San Francisco, California |
| Pen name | Edward Lewis |
| Occupation | Playwright, Screenwriter |
| Nationality | United States |
| Period | Modernism |
| Spouse | Katharine Drain (1918-1923) Susan Edmond (1925-) |
| Children | Alan Drain Jeffery Edmond Susan Amanda |
John Howard Lawson (September 25, 1894 – August 11, 1977) was an American writer. He was for several years head of the Hollywood division of the Communist Party USA. He was also the organization's cultural manager and answered directly to V.J. Jerome, the Party's New York-based cultural chief. He was the first president of the Writers Guild of America, West after the Screen Writers Guild divided into two regional organizations.
Lawson was one of the Hollywood Ten, the first group of American film industry professionals to be blacklisted during the Second Red Scare.
Lawson was born in New York City, New York on September 25, 1894 to Simeon Levy and Belle Hart Lawson. His father changed their name from Levy to Lawson before Johnathon was born, joking that this was so that his son could "obtain reservations at expensive resort hotels". When he was five, his mother died. She had named her children after people she admired: John Howard Lawson was named after the prison reformer John Howard, his sister Adelaide Jaffery Lawson was named after a friend of hers who was socially active, and Wendell Holmes Lawson was named after reforming American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
After Simeon's wife died, he would take control of the children's education: first to Halstead School in Yonkers, New York and then Cutler School (New York) in New Rochelle, New York. In 1906, Simeon sent the three children on a tour of Europe, and seeing theatre was on the list. John Howard would take notes on the set designs, actors, and plays. In 1909, they were sent on a tour of America and Canada.
At age seven, he attended Elizabeth and Alexis Ferms' "Children's Playhouse" school, an experimental school for children.
...
Wikipedia