Melville Shavelson

Melville Shavelson (April 1, 1917 – August 8, 2007) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, television creator, and author renowned for his comedic screenplays, family-oriented films, and leadership in the screenwriting community. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Cornell University in 1937 and began his career as a gag writer for Bob Hope's radio show in the late 1930s, transitioning to Hollywood screenwriting during World War II. Over five decades, Shavelson contributed to over 35 films, directed 12 features, earning two Academy Award nominations for his screenplays and creating two Emmy-winning television series.

Shavelson's early Hollywood success came through collaborations with longtime writing partner Jack Rose, producing lighthearted comedies that often featured stars like Bob Hope, Cary Grant, and Sophia Loren. His breakthrough films included directing and co-writing The Seven Little Foys (1955), a biographical comedy starring Bob Hope as vaudevillian Eddie Foy, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. This was followed by another nomination for Houseboat (1958), a romantic comedy he directed and co-wrote, pairing Cary Grant with Sophia Loren. Other notable directorial efforts included Beau James (1957), a biopic of New York mayor Jimmy Walker; The Five Pennies (1959), starring Danny Kaye as jazz cornetist Red Nichols; It Started in Naples (1960), reuniting him with Loren and Clark Gable; Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), an epic about Israel's War of Independence featuring Kirk Douglas and an all-star cast; and Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), a family comedy with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda that highlighted his knack for blending humor with heartfelt themes. In television, he created the long-running sitcom Make Room for Daddy (later The Danny Thomas Show, 1953–1964), which won an Emmy as best comedy series, and My World and Welcome to It (1969–1970), based on James Thurber's works, also an Emmy winner.

Beyond his creative output, Shavelson was a pivotal figure in the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw), serving three terms as president (1969–1971, 1979–1981, 1985–1987) during key periods of labor negotiations and industry changes. He received the WGA's Morgan Cox Award in 1998 for service to writers and the Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement in 1984, the guild's highest honor. Later in life, he authored books including the memoir How to Make a Jewish Movie (1971), co-wrote Don't Shoot, It's Only Me: Bob Hope's Comedy History of the United States (1990) with Hope, and published his autobiography How to Succeed in Hollywood Without Really Trying, P.S. — You Can't! shortly before his death. Shavelson taught at the University of Southern California's master of professional writing program, established a film scholarship at Cornell, and supported the Motion Picture & Television Fund. He was married twice—first to Lucille Myers from 1938 until her death in 2000, with whom he had two children, Richard and Lynne; and to Ruth Florea from 2001 until his passing from natural causes at age 90 in Studio City, California.