1. Morris "Morrie" Ryskind was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and movies who became a conservative political activist later in life.
15 Facts About Morrie Ryskind
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Morrie Ryskind attended Columbia University but was suspended shortly before he was due to graduate after he called university president Nicholas Murray Butler "Czar Nicholas" in the pages of the humor magazine Jester in 1917.
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Morrie Ryskind was criticizing Butler for refusing to allow Ilya Tolstoy speak on campus.
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From 1927 to 1945, Morrie Ryskind was author of numerous scripts and musical lyrics for Broadway productions and Hollywood films, and he later directed several productions.
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Morrie Ryskind collaborated with George S Kaufman on several Broadway hits.
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Morrie Ryskind wrote or cowrote several Marx Brothers theatrical and screenplays, including the book for the Broadway musical Animal Crackers, and he wrote the screenplays for the film versions of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers.
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In working on that script, Morrie Ryskind was heavily involved in the "cleanup process," watching the brothers repeatedly perform sections of the play before live audiences to determine which lines worked and which did not.
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Morrie Ryskind rewrote the stage version of Room Service, reworking the plot to make the film suitable for the Marx Brothers.
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For many years, Morrie Ryskind had been a member of the Socialist Party of America, and during the 1930s he participated in party-sponsored activities, even performing sketches at antiwar events, but he split with the party's Old Guard faction led by Louis Waldman.
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In 1940, Morrie Ryskind abandoned the Democratic Party, and he opposed President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's pursuit of a third term, writing the campaign song for that year's Republican Party presidential nominee Wendell Willkie.
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Morrie Ryskind maintained some ties to the Socialist Party throughout the 1940s and served as a vice chairman of the Keep America Out of War Congress.
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Morrie Ryskind became a friend to writers Max Eastman, Ayn Rand, John Dos Passos, Suzanne La Follette and Raymond Moley.
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Morrie Ryskind lent money to Buckley to help start The National Review, which began publication in 1955, another journal to which he was an early contributor.
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Morrie Ryskind was a vocal sympathizer with the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism.
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In 1960, Morrie Ryskind started to write a feature column in the Los Angeles Times that promoted conservative ideas for the next 11 years.