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John Howard Lawson (September 25, 1894 – August 11, 1977) was an American writer, specializing in plays and screenplays. After starting with plays for theaters in New York City, he worked in Hollywood on writing for films. [1]
John Howard Lawson was a U.S. playwright, screenwriter, and member of the “Hollywood Ten,” who was jailed (1948–49) and blacklisted for his refusal to tell the House Committee on Un-American Activities about his political allegiances.
Apr 13, 2023 · Lawson was Oscar-nominated for Best Writing, Original Story for the 1938 Spanish Civil War drama, Blockade. He wrote big screen vehicles for stars such as Henry Fonda, Don Ameche, Paul Muni, Susan Hayward, Sidney Poitier, and Humphry Bogart.
Playwright and screenwriter John Howard Lawson, the president and organizing force of the Screen Writers’ Guild and acknowledged leader of the Communist Party in Hollywood in the late 1930s, became the first “unfriendly” witness subpoenaed to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) on October 27, 1947.
Mar 24, 2023 · John Howard Lawson (1894–1977) John Howard Lawson cofounded the Screen Writers Guild in 1933 with Lester Cole and Samuel Ornitz, and served as its first president.
First president and co-founder of the Screen Writers Guild, John Howard Lawson was one of the first screenwriters to write for talkies. He was active from 1928 until 1947, when he became one of the blacklisted “Hollywood Ten,” indicted for contempt of Congress, found guilty, and jailed for one year.
By 1977 the once-energetic Lawson had slowed down considerably. Now well into his eighties, he had failing eyesight and was experiencing the onset of Parkinson’s disease, a motor system disorder often characterized by tremors, stiffness of limbs, slowness of movement, and impaired balance and coordination.
