Richard Brooks
| Richard Brooks | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Reuben Sax May 18, 1912 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 11, 1992 (aged 79) Studio City, Los Angeles, California |
| Spouse(s) |
Jean Brooks (1941–1944; divorced) Harriette Levin (1946–1957; divorced) Jean Simmons (1960–1980; divorced; 1 child) |
Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and occasional film producer. His outstanding works as director are Blackboard Jungle (1955); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958); Elmer Gantry (1960) – for which he won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay); In Cold Blood (1967); and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977).
Brooks was born as Reuben Sax to Hyman and Esther Sax, Russian Jewish immigrants. Married teenagers when they immigrated to the United States in 1908, they found employment in Philadelphia's textile and clothing industry. Their only child Reuben Sax was born in 1912 in Philadelphia. He attended public schools Joseph Leidy Elementary,Mayer Sulzberger Junior High School and West Philadelphia High School, graduating from the latter in 1929.
Sax took classes at Temple University for two years, studying journalism and playing on the school's baseball team. He dropped out and left home when he discovered that his parents were going into debt to pay for his tuition. He rode freight trains around the East and Midwest for a period of time but eventually returned to Philadelphia to seek work as a newspaper reporter. At some point in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Sax began using the name Richard Brooks professionally. He changed his name legally in 1943.
Brooks wrote sports for the Philadelphia Record and later joined the staff of the Atlantic City Press-Union. He moved to New York to work for the World-Telegram; shortly afterward he took a job with radio station WNEW for a larger paycheck. As a newsman for the station, he reported and read stories on the air and provided commentary.
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