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P. J. Wolfson

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P. J. Wolfson
Three of a Kind by P. J. Wolfson, 1957
Three of a Kind by P. J. Wolfson, 1957
BornPincus Jacob Wolfson
(1903-05-22)May 22, 1903
New York City, US
DiedApril 16, 1979(1979-04-16) (aged 75)
Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation
  • Screenwriter
  • producer
  • writer

Pincus Jacob Wolfson (May 22, 1903 – April 16, 1979) was an American pharmacist, novelist, screenwriter, film producer, and film director.

Early life

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Pincus Jacob Wolfson was born to Russian-Jewish immigrants[1] in New York City. His father worked as a plumber.[citation needed] Pincus studied pharmacy at Fordham University.[citation needed]

Career

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While working in a pharmacy in Madison Square Garden, he wrote his first novels.

Wolfson published his first novel, Bodies Are Dust, in 1931, and later, published twice, under two different titles, in French. It was called a "masterpiece" by Jean-Patrick Manchette.[2]

Allen Rivkin, an advertising copy writer, who went to Hollywood and joined the RKO Pictures publicity department, formed a film writing team with Wolfson, who got a writer’s contract on the strength of "Bodies Are Dust".[3] They started at Universal Pictures the same day.[3] Through a luncheon conversation that day decided to collaborate on a story.[3] In less than two years the pair wrote ten screen plays.[3] They later wrote for the B. P. Schulberg company at Paramount Pictures.[3]

He worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, RKO Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures. He wrote numerous scripts for film and television. He produced 30 episodes of the television series I Married Joan between 1952 and 1955.[citation needed]

Works

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Novels

  • Bodies Are Dust (1931)
  • Summer Hotel (1932)
  • All Women Die (1933)
  • My Flesh of Brass (1934)
  • How Sharp the Point (1959)

Partial filmography

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Writer
Director
Producer

Further reading

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  • Claude Mesplède; Jean-Jacques Schleret (1982). Futuropolis (ed.). SN, voyage au bout de la Noire : inventaire de 732 auteurs et de leurs œuvres publiés en séries Noire et Blème : suivi d'une filmographie complète (in French). Paris. p. 476. OCLC 11972030.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Claude Mesplède (1992). Editions Encrage (ed.). Les années "Série noire" : bibliographie critique d'une collection policière 1945–1959 (in French). Vol. 1. Amiens. ISBN 978-2-906-38934-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Claude Mesplède (1994). Editions Encrage (ed.). Les années "Série noire" : bibliographie critique d'une collection policière 1966–1972. 22 (in French). Vol. 3. Amiens. ISBN 978-2-906-38953-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Citations

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  1. ^ "The P.J. Wolfson Story – Bodies are Dust – WDORS". April 14, 2020.
  2. ^ Mesplède, Claude (2007). Dictionnaire des littératures policières, vol. 2 : J – Z, p. 1086. Joseph K, Nantes. ISBN 978-2-910-68645-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e "In Hollywood". San Pedro News Pilot. San Pedro, CA. December 29, 1932. p. 6. Retrieved April 5, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection. Volume 5, Number 256
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