Irving S. Brecher (January 17, 1914 – November 17, 2008) was a screenwriter who wrote for the Marx Brothers; he was the only writer to get sole credit on a Marx Brothers film including At the Circus in 1939 and Go West in 1940. He was also one of the numerous uncredited writers on the screenplay of 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Some of his other screenplays were Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), Ziegfeld Follies (1946) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963).He created, produced, and was head writer for the original radio and early TV edition of The Life of Riley. He later created and co-produced The People's Choice as well.Adapting Nathaniel Benchley's novel, he wrote the screenplay for, and directed Sail A Crooked Ship starring Ernie Kovacs and a young Robert Wagner.He received an Academy Award nomination in 1944 for his screenplay of Meet Me in St Louis.As an aspiring young comedy writer, Brecher famously placed an ad in Variety looking for work, promising he could write "jokes so bad, even Milton Berle wouldn't steal them." He was promptly hired by Berle himself.Brecher sometimes filled in for Groucho in Marx Brothers publicity photos, despite the almost 25-year age difference.His memoirs, The Wicked Wit of the West: The last great Golden-Age screenwriter shares the hilarity and heartaches of working with Groucho, Garland, Gleason, Burns, Berle, Benny & many more, was published posthumously in January 2009 by Ben Yehuda Press.
January 17, 1914, The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States
Died
November 17, 2008, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Profession
Producer, Writer, Director
Nationality
American
Spouse
Norma Brecher (m. 1983–2008), Eve Bennett (m. ?–1981)
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay
Movies
Meet Me in St. Louis, The Wizard of Oz, Bye Bye Birdie, At the Circus, Go West, Shadow of the Thin Man, Yolanda and the Thief, Sail a Crooked Ship, Ziegfeld Follies, Somebody Loves Me, Du Barry Was a Lady, The Life of Riley, Best Foot Forward, Cry for Happy, Summer Holiday, New Faces of 1937, Fools ...
TV Shows
The People's Choice
Star Sign
Capricorn
#
Fact
1
American radio writer, who became a close friend of Groucho Marx and went on to script two classic Marx Brothers comedies (At the Circus (1939) and Go West (1940). Brecher jokingly referred to "Go West" "as the longest short ever made". He began his career as an usher at a Manhattan movie theater. A critic from "Variety" magazine told him that he could earn money writing jokes for comedians and he consequently moved to Hollywood in 1937. He wrote gags for Milton Berle and worked at MGM for some time, afterwards creating, producing and writing the popular radio sitcom "The Life of Riley" and then turning it into a feature film and a TV series.
2
Talks about considering Lon Chaney Jr. for the top role in TV's "The Life of Riley" in the book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland & Co., 2010) by Tom Weaver.
3
Profiled in "The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age" by Jordan Young (BearManor Media).
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The People's Choice
TV Series producer - 31 episodes, 1955 - 1957 executive producer - 1 episode, 1957
The Life of Riley
1949-1950
TV Series producer - 26 episodes
The Life of Riley
1949
producer
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Best Foot Forward
1943
screenplay
Du Barry Was a Lady
1943
screenplay
Ship Ahoy
1942
uncredited
Shadow of the Thin Man
1941
screen play
Go West
1940
original screenplay
At the Circus
1939
screen play
The Wizard of Oz
1939
contributing writer - uncredited
Fools for Scandal
1938
additional dialogue - as Irv Brecher
New Faces of 1937
1937
screenplay - as Irv S. Brecher
Bye Bye Birdie
1963
screen play
Cry for Happy
1961
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
1959
TV Series written by - 1 episode
Meet Me in St. Louis
1959
TV Movie original screenplay
The People's Choice
TV Series creator - 4 episodes, 1956 - 1957 writer - 1 episode, 1958
Somebody Loves Me
1952
written by
The Life of Riley
TV Series written by - 25 episodes, 1949 - 1950 writer - 1 episode, 1949
The Life of Riley
1949
writer
Summer Holiday
1948
adaptation
Yolanda and the Thief
1945
screenplay
Ziegfeld Follies
1945
written by - segment "The Babbitt and the Bromide", uncredited
Meet Me in St. Louis
1944
screen play
The Heavenly Body
1944
uncredited
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
Sail a Crooked Ship
1961
The People's Choice
1955
TV Series 2 episodes
Somebody Loves Me
1952
The Life of Riley
1949
TV Series 1 episode
The Life of Riley
1949
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Remarks on Marx
2004
Video short special thanks
The Unknown Marx Brothers
1993
TV Movie documentary special thanks - as Irv Brecher
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
On Your Marx, Get Set, Go!
2004
Video documentary short
Himself
Remarks on Marx
2004
Video short
Himself
Great Performances
1996
TV Series
Himself
The Unknown Marx Brothers
1993
TV Movie documentary
Himself - Screenwriter-Director (as Irv Brecher)
A Museum of Broadcasting Tribute: Milton Berle - Mr. Television