John Howard Lawson
John Howard Lawson (1894-1977) was an American playwright and screenwriter known for his liberal political activism and contributions to both theater and film. Born in New York City, he graduated from Williams College in 1914 and served as a volunteer ambulance driver during World War I before transitioning into a career in writing and publicity. Lawson's early works, including the play *Servant-Master-Lover*, showcased Marxist themes and social critiques, a focus that continued through his later plays such as *Processional* and *Loudspeaker*.
He became prominent in Hollywood in the late 1920s, co-founding the Screen Writers' Guild and serving as its first president. Lawson's notable screenplays include *Blockade*, nominated for an Academy Award, and *Counter-Attack*, reflecting his political views and engagement with social issues. His activism extended to high-profile cases like Sacco and Vanzetti and the Scottsboro Boys, for which he faced arrest during protests.
In 1947, he was part of the Hollywood Ten, a group defying the House Un-American Activities Committee, leading to imprisonment and subsequent blacklisting. After relocating to Mexico, Lawson continued to write and revise works until his death from Parkinson's disease in 1977. His papers are housed at the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale.
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John Howard Lawson
Writer
- Born: September 25, 1894
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: August 11, 1977
- Place of death: San Francisco, California
Biography
John Howard Lawson was born on September 25, 1894, in New York City, the son of Simeon Lawson, a journalist, and Belle Hart Lawson. His father had changed the family’s name from Levy. Lawson’s mother died when he was five. He graduated from Williams College in 1914 and worked for Reuters Press in New York until 1915. During World War I, Lawson was a volunteer ambulance driver for the Red Cross in France and Italy. After the war, he was a publicity director for the American Red Cross in Rome and also edited a newspaper there.
Lawson’s play Servant-Master-Lover was produced in Los Angeles in 1916. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, nine more plays were staged in New York. Such works as Processional, Loudspeaker, Success Story, and Marching Song reflect Marxist themes in their examination of social ills and the destructive power of wealth. Lawson sold an unproduced screenplay to Paramount in 1920 and went to Hollywood in 1928, receiving his first credit for the Joan Crawford costume romance Dream of Love. He was a cofounder of the Screen Writers’ Guild, serving as its first president in 1933.
Many of Lawson’s screenplays reflect his liberal political views. Blockade, nominated for an Academy Award for best original story, depicts a peasant, played by Henry Fonda, defending his farm during the Spanish Civil War. Counter-Attack shows Soviet forces trying to drive Nazi invaders out of Russia.
Lawson was involved in many political causes throughout his life. In the 1920’s, he supported Sacco and Vanzetti, political radicals accused of murder in Massachusetts. In the 1930’s, he supported the Scottsboro Boys, nine black men charged with rape in Alabama. In both cases, Lawson was arrested during protests.
In 1947, Lawson was one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of screenwriters and directors who refused to cooperate with the House Committee on Un-American Activities’s investigation into alleged communist activities in the film industry. Lawson’s famous response to the committee was “I am not on trial here, Mr. Chairman. This committee is on trial before the American people.”
After a year’s imprisonment for contempt of Congress in 1950-1951, Lawson found himself blacklisted from working in Hollywood and went into exile in Mexico. During this period, he revised an earlier nonfiction work as Theory and Technique of Playwriting and Screenwriting and wrote Film in the Battle of Ideas. He also worked on screenplays for which he did not receive credit, including Cry, the Beloved Country, from Alan Paton’s anti-apartheid novel.
Lawson was married to actress Kate Drain from 1918 to 1923. He married Susan Edmond on September 25, 1925. The first marriage produced one child, the second two children. Lawson died of Parkinson’s disease in San Francisco on August 11, 1977. His papers are at the University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale.