Lewis R. Foster
Lewis R. Foster (* August 5, 1898 in Brookfield, Missouri, † June 10, 1974 in Tehachapi, California ) was an American journalist, screenwriter and director who in 1940 won the Oscar for best original story.
Life
After schooling Foster studied at the University of California and then worked as a journalist for newspapers in San Francisco. His decades- long career in the film industry in Hollywood, he began in 1925 as an assistant director with the short silent film Is not Life Terrible? . As a screenwriter, he wrote the templates and scripts for 75 films and directed over sixty films next as a director as well as numerous episodes for television series.
At the Academy Awards in 1940 he won the Academy Award for best original story for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ( 1939) by Frank Capra with James Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Rains.
In 1944 he was nominated for the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, either together with Richard Flournoy, Frank Ross and Robert Russell for The More the Merrier (1943 ) by George Stevens with Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn.
1960 Foster was, who was married between 1936 and his death with the actress Dorothy Wilson, also a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ( ASCAP ).