Howard Koch
Howard Koch was an influential American playwright and screenwriter, born on December 12, 1902, in New York City. He initially pursued a career in law after graduating from Columbia University, but soon transitioned to playwriting, believing in the potential of drama to address social issues. His notable works include the Broadway plays "Great Scott!" and "The Lonely Man," the latter of which critiques social injustice through the lens of Abraham Lincoln's beliefs. Koch gained significant recognition for his radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ "The War of the Worlds," which famously led many listeners to believe an alien invasion was occurring.
His career in Hollywood flourished with screenplays for classic films such as "Casablanca," which earned him an Academy Award, and "Mission to Moscow," a pro-Soviet film. However, his political engagements led to his subpoena by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, resulting in his blacklisting in 1951. Koch eventually relocated to Europe, continuing to write under pseudonyms until his name was cleared in 1961. He remained a prolific screenwriter throughout the 1960s, contributing to films that showcased prominent stars. Koch's autobiography, "As Time Goes By: Memoirs of a Writer," was published in 1979, and he passed away on August 17, 1995.
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Howard Koch
Playwright
- Born: December 2, 1902
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: August 17, 1995
- Place of death: Woodstock, New York
Biography
Howard Koch was born in New York City on December 12, 1902. His father, Frederick Koch, was employed by the New York Board of WaterSupply, and his work kept the family in upstate Kingston, New York, for most of Koch’s childhood. Koch excelled academically and enrolled in St. Stephen’s College at Avondale-on-Hudson, graduating with a B.A. in 1922. Three years later he earned his law degree from Columbia University. He quickly found his small law practice in Hartsdale, New York, unsatisfying and decided instead to become a playwright.
A political liberal influenced by progressive ideas during his schooling, Koch believed that drama could serve a social function, and he distilled much of his passion and idealism into Great Scott! (1929), Give Us This Day (1933), and other plays of his produced on Broadway. The success of his drama The Lonely Man (1935), in which Abraham Lincoln returns to Depression-era America to fight modern slavery and social injustice, brought Koch’s work to the attention of John Houseman, who hired him as a writer for the radio program Mercury Theatre on the Air. At the behest of Orson Welles, a major creative force for the show, Koch wrote a dramatic adaptation of H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, and this dramatic broadcast on Halloween in 1938 fooled many listeners into thinking the alien invasion was real.
Through connections with Welles and John Huston (who had starred in his second play), Koch began working as a screenwriter for Warner Brothers in Hollywood. His earliest assignments were mostly adaptations of existing literary works: The Sea Hawk (1940), based on a swashbuckling novel by Rafael Sabatini; The Letter, from a short story by W. Somerset Maugham; Shining Victory, adapted from a play by A. J. Cronin; and In This Our Life, from a novel by Ellen Glasgow. Koch was selective in the screenplays he wrote and often worked social and political commentary into his treatments, as in Sergeant York (1941), a vehicle for actorGary Cooper that explored the legitimacy of pacifism in a time of war. Koch is also credited with having fine-tuned the politics of his next film, Casablanca (1942), the screenplay that earned him an Academy Award. At the behest of Jack Warner, Koch went on to write the politically propagandistic movie Mission to Moscow (1943), a pro-Soviet film, as well as In Our Time (1944), an antifascist movie.
Partly as a result of his work on these and other films, Koch was subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Although Koch was not a member of the Communist party, he was uncooperative and friction developed between him and Warner. After buying his way out of his contract with Warner Brothers, Koch found his work in diminishing demand. In 1951, after scripting The Thirteenth Letter, he was blacklisted. Unable to get work, he moved to Europe, where he worked under pseudonyms, including Peter Howard, the credit given for the screenplay of The Intimate Stranger (1956). Koch’s name was not cleared until 1961. There followed a series of films, including Loss of Innocence (1961), The War Lover (1962), 633 Squadron (1964), and The Fox (1967), the latter an adaptation of D. H. Lawrence’s controversial novel. During these years, Koch and his wife settled in Woodstock, New York, where he wrote for local theater. One of the most successful screenwriters of his time, Koch is credited with memorable vehicles for a galaxy of stars including Bette Davis, Gary Cooper, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Humphrey Bogart, and Steve McQueen. His autobiography, As Time Goes By: Memoirs of a Writer, appeared in 1979. He died on August 17, 1995.