Allen Rivkin
Allen Rivkin was an influential American screenwriter, playwright, and public figure in the film industry, born on November 20, 1903, in Hayward, Wisconsin. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota in 1925 and began his career in journalism, public relations, and advertising before transitioning to Hollywood in the early 1930s. Over the next two decades, Rivkin contributed to numerous major studios, crafting screenplays and dialogue for various genres, particularly crime and investigative stories, with notable films like "Kid Glove Killer" and "The Farmer’s Daughter," the latter earning an Academy Award nomination.
In addition to his screenwriting, Rivkin was active in promoting progressive politics within the Hollywood community, directing presidential campaigns for figures like Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. He played a pivotal role in several industry organizations, including founding the Motion Picture Industry Council and the International Writers Guild. Rivkin received multiple accolades for his contributions to film, including the Valentine Davies Award and the Morgan Cox Award. He passed away on February 17, 1990, leaving behind a legacy of both artistic and social influence in the entertainment industry.
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Subject Terms
Allen Rivkin
Writer
- Born: November 20, 1903
- Birthplace: Hayward, Wisconsin
- Died: February 17, 1990
- Place of death: West Hollywood, California
Biography
Allen Erwin Rivkin was born on November 20, 1903, in Hayward, Wisconsin, the son of merchant Samuel Richard and Rose Rosenberg Rivkin. He earned a B.A. at the University of Minnesota in 1925. After graduation, Rivkin worked as a journalist, in public relations, and in advertising.
In the early 1930’s, Rivkin went to Hollywood, where he worked steadily as a screenwriter and script doctor from 1932 until the late 1950’s. He contributed stories, plays, scripts, dialogue, and adaptations to films produced by most of the major studios, including Twentieth Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros., RKO Pictures, Paramount Studios, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His first screen credit was for Night World, released in 1932. Early in his career, Rivkin specialized in fast-paced crime and newspaper investigation stories, including Headline Shooter and Picture Snatcher, both released in 1933. The latter film was based on a true story about a reporter who secretly photographed the first woman to be executed in an electric chair, Ruth Snyder; Snyder was put to death, along with her lover and coconspirator Judd Gray, on January 12, 1928, for murdering her husband, Alfred. Rivkin also wrote the playKnock on Wood, which was produced in 1935 at the Cort Theatre on Broadway.
From 1942 to 1944, Rivkin served as head motion picture officer in the Special Services Division of the U.S. War Department. He hit his stride in the 1940’s with such features as Kid Glove Killer, Till the End of Time, Dead Reckoning, and The Farmer’s Daughter; the latter script was nominated for an Academy Award and received awards from Look and Photoplay magazines. Rivkin also won a Books and Authors Award for Timberjack, released in 1955. His best-known later work includes the films The Eternal Sea, The Road to Denver, Live Fast, Die Young, and The Big Operator. Rivkin also produced the television series Troubleshooters, which aired in 1958 and 1959
In 1952, Rivkin married Laura Hornickel, a former literary agent turned screenwriter. Under the pseudonym Laura Kerr, she cowrote The Farmer’s Daughter, Grounds for Marriage, and Battle Circus with Rivkin.
Throughout his Hollywood sojourn, Rivkin played a large role in the political and social fabric of the film community. A lifelong liberal Democrat, he directed the Hollywood presidential campaigns of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1936 through 1944, Harry S. Truman in 1948, Adlai E. Stevenson in 1952, and John F. Kennedy in 1960. He also served as a director of the Democratic National Convention in 1960. Rivkin was founder and president of the Motion Picture Industry Council; a cofounder of the International Writers Guild; founder and president of the West branch of the Dramatists Guild of the Writers Guild of America; and founder, president, and director of public relations of the Screen Writers Guild. For his services to the motion picture industry, Rivkin received the Valentine Davies Award in 1963 and the Morgan Cox Award in 1972, both from the Writers Guild of America. Rivkin died on February 17, 1990, at the age of eight-six.