Helen Deutsch
Helen German ( born March 21, 1906 in Manhattan, New York City; † March 15, 1992 ibid ) was an American journalist, songwriter and screenwriter.
Life
After completing her bachelor's degree from Barnard College in Manhattan German Helen began her career as a manager of the theater troupe The Provincetown Players. Then she wrote theater reviews for the New York Tribune and the New York Times. During the 1930s she worked part-time on Broadway in the press department of the New York Theatre Guild. She also wrote more than 20 short stories for magazines and several stage plays.
In 1944 she went to Hollywood, where she wrote her first screenplays for MGM, including for Fred Zinnemann's film drama The Seventh Cross ( The Seventh Cross, 1944), a film adaptation with Spencer Tracy based on Anna Seghers ' novel of the same. The family movie Little Girl, Big Heart ( National Velvet, 1944), then delivered the screenplay for the German, Elizabeth Taylor made her a star. German proved as a writer in the film a wide bandwidth. In addition to war and melodramas she wrote for movie musicals and adventure films such as King Solomon's Mines (King Solomon's Mines, 1950), and adapted Prosper Mérimée novella Carmen for the screen version love nights in Seville ( The Loves of Carmen, 1948) with Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford.
For her screenplay for the film musical Lili (1953 ), for which she wrote the lyrics and the song Hi- Lili, Hi -Lo, German has received many Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. In 1961 she also received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Musical libretto for the musical Carnival! , Which was based on her screenplay for Lili.
Among her works is the poem The White Magnolia Tree, which enjoyed since a televised recitation of Helen Hayes in 1957 in the United States continually great popularity. Her latest screenplay she wrote for The Valley of the Dolls ( Valley of the Dolls, 1967) based on Jacqueline Susann's novel of the same name.
Helen German died in 1992 six days before her 86th birthday at her home in Manhattan.