Robert Riskin was an American Academy Award-winning screenwriter and playwright, best known for his collaborations with director-producer Frank Capra.
22 Facts About Robert Riskin
2.
Robert Riskin was born on New York City's Lower East side to Jewish parents, Bessie and Jakob, who had emigrated from Tsarist Russia to escape conscription.
3.
An enthusiast of the vaudeville stage, the teen-age Riskin took every opportunity to sneak into the theatre and catch the shows.
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Robert Riskin was a particular fan of the comedians who performed there, and he habitually transcribed their jokes into a notebook he carried with him.
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Robert Riskin began his career as a playwright, writing for many local New York City playhouses.
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Robert Riskin continued his Broadway career until the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression caused many theatres to close.
7.
Robert Riskin recognized he had the credentials and seized the opportunity by relocating to Hollywood.
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Robert Riskin moved to Hollywood in 1931 after Columbia Pictures bought the screen rights to several of his plays.
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Robert Riskin wrote several films for Columbia, but it was his string of hits with Capra that brought him acclaim.
10.
Robert Riskin received Academy Award nominations for his screenplays and stories for five Capra films: Lady for a Day, which Robert Riskin had adapted from a Damon Runyon short story; It Happened One Night, for which he won the Oscar; Mr Deeds Goes to Town with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur; You Can't Take It with You with Lionel Barrymore and James Stewart; and Here Comes the Groom with Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman.
11.
Robert Riskin joined Capra in an independent production company in 1939, but they fell out in 1941.
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Robert Riskin returned to Hollywood in 1945, with the screenplay for The Thin Man Goes Home He had an uncredited collaboration on the 1946 film noir classic The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.
13.
In 1950, Robert Riskin suffered a debilitating stroke which left him unable to write.
14.
Robert Riskin had completed the screenplay for Half Angel and the story for Here Comes the Groom before the stroke.
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Ironically, Capra was assigned to direct Here Comes the Groom, and Robert Riskin received a fifth Academy Award nomination for it.
16.
Robert Riskin was an invalid until he died on September 20,1955.
17.
Robert Riskin directed only one entire film, When You're in Love, a minor musical starring Grace Moore and Cary Grant.
18.
Robert Riskin contributed to at least six other screenplays directed by Capra.
19.
Robert Riskin was politically liberal, while Capra was a committed, conservative Republican.
20.
However, Robert Riskin felt that Capra was taking all the credit for their films, including Robert Riskin's share.
21.
Swerling was pained by Capra's behavior, but Robert Riskin refused to disparage Capra.
22.
Robert Riskin produced many noteworthy films, including The Thin Man Goes Home, written by Robert.