Norman Krasna
Norman Krasna was an influential American playwright and screenwriter, born in 1909 in Corona, Queens, New York. Initially pursuing a career in journalism, he worked as a film and drama critic before transitioning to Hollywood as a publicist for Warner Bros. His experiences in the film industry inspired his first play, "Louder, Please," staged in 1931. Krasna's career flourished during World War II when he served in the U.S. Army Air Force, directing and producing propaganda films, and winning an Academy Award for his screenplay for "Princess O'Rourke." He was also nominated for several other Academy Awards for his works, including "The Richest Girl in the World" and "Fury." On Broadway, his most notable successes were the plays "Dear Ruth" and "John Loves Mary." Throughout his career, Krasna established production companies and continued to create content for both stage and screen until his death in 1984. His legacy includes significant contributions to comedy and drama, reflecting the cultural landscape of his time.
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Norman Krasna
Writer
- Born: November 7, 1909
- Birthplace: Corona, Queens, New York
- Died: November 1, 1984
- Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Biography
Norman Krasna was born in 1909 in Corona, Queens, New York, and spent his early years on the East Coast. He studied law and earned his living as a journalist in the late 1920’s, serving as a film and drama critic for several New York newspapers. In 1930, he took a position with the film trade newspaper, Exhibitor’s Herald-World, but within months he moved to Hollywood to work as a publicist for Warner Bros. studios.
As a result of his experience at Warner Bros., he wrote his first play, Louder, Please, a satirical representation of what he had experienced in Hollywood. The play was staged in 1931. Ever a New Yorker, Krasna, who had returned to Manhattan to oversee the production of this play, decided to stay in New York City, but he continued to write screenplays for RKO Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
When the United States entered World War II, Krasna joined the U. S. Army Air Force to work in its first motion picture unit. He served more than four years in this capacity, directing and producing a number of propaganda films and considerably broadening his filmmaking experience. During his time in the service, his screenplay for Princess O’Rourke received the 1943 Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Krasna also received Academy Award nominations for his screenplays for The Richest Girl in the World, The Devil and Miss Jones, and Fury.
Several of Krasna’s plays were well received on Broadway. Besides writing these plays, he often directed and produced them as well. His most successful Broadway plays were Dear Ruth, produced in 1944, and John Loves Mary, produced in 1947. Love in E-Flat, Bunny, and Full Moon were reasonably successful, although they were not the hits that Dear Ruth and John Loves Mary had been.
In 1950, Krasna and Jerry Wald joined forces to establish a production company, Wald- Krasna Productions, but within a couple of years, Krasna decided to sell out his portion of the company to Wald. In 1956, he formed his own production company, Monovale Productions, which he ran until he moved to Switzerland in 1959. Upon his return to the United States in 1961, Krasna’s romantic comedy, Sunday in New York, opened on Broadway. He later wrote a screenplay based on this play, and the film version of Sunday in New York was released in 1964.
The Writers Guild of America presented Krasna its Laurel Award in 1959 in recognition of his contributions to film writing. He continued to write for both Broadway and Hollywood until his death from a heart attack in 1984.