Melville Shavelson

Shavelson died on August 7 at the age of 90, of unspecified natural causes, at his home in Los Angeles (California). Born on April 1, 1917 in New York, Melville Shavelson began his career writing radio gags for the renowned comedian Bob Hope . He began in the cinema as a screenwriter, in 1941, with the additional dialogues of Ice-Capades , and later wrote the script for The Princess and the Pirate , one of the great successes of the aforementioned Hope, who had him as one of his most valuable collaborators. . In this way, Shavelson ended up making his debut as a director, in The Seven Little Foys and The Mayor of Broadway , two Hope comedies, tailored to his needs.

For another of the most famous comedians of the day, Danny Kaye , Shavelson wrote Freak Man and The Brooklyn Wonder . He also led her in Your hand in mine . Especially fortunate was Shavelson’s professional relationship with Sophia Loren , then an up-and-coming actress new to Hollywood. She first directed the Italian in Cintia , a family comedy that reunited her with the very veteran Cary Grant . Soon after, the star returned to her command, in Capri , shot in Italy. This comedy was Clark Gable ‘s penultimate role , just before his participation in the legendaryRebel Lives , who here played a lawyer who was having an affair in Italy with Loren. Shavelson was often accompanied by success as a director, especially with films like Samantha , with Paul Newman , and Yours, Mine, Ours , a family comedy with Lucille Ball , Henry Fonda and Van Johnson . Shavelson was nominated for an Oscar twice, as a screenwriter for Houseboat and The Seven Little Foys . The American Scriptwriters Union named him president of the institution three times, at the end of his career.