Kalish, Irma

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Kalish, Irma

(Cady Kalian, a joint pseudonym)

PERSONAL: Married Austin Kalish (a screenwriter). Education: Graduated from Syracuse University.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Forge, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Screenwriter and producer. Member of Motion Picture Fund and Women in Film Foundation.

MEMBER: Writers Guild of America (vice-president, 1981–85; secretary-treasurer, 2005), Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS: Morgan Cox Award, Writers Guild of America, 1993; Founders Award, Women in Film Foundation, 1997; Valentine Davies Award, Writers Guild of America, 2004.

WRITINGS:

(With Naomi Gurian; under joint pseudonym Cady Kalian) As Dead As It Gets, Forge Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Also author of screenplays, including Keep Off My Grass, Rendezvous Hotel, and I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later. Writer for television series, including My Three Sons, F Troop, Flying Nun, Nanny and the Professor, Bob Newhart Show, Anna and the King, Dusty's Trail, Family Affair, Good Times, Apple's Way, Finder of Lost Loves, and The Famous Jett Jackson.

SIDELIGHTS: Irma Kalish is one-half of the writing team under the name Cady Kalian; the other author is Naomi Gurian. Both women are longtime members of the Writers Guild of America; Kalish served in various officer positions, while Gurian served as the executive director. They are also seasoned screenwriters. Kalish's work on television series began in the early 1960s. Despite both women having extensive screen-writing experience, neither Kalish nor Gurian had published a book prior to As Dead As It Gets in 2006. The jointly written novel introduces the lead character, Maggie Mars, a Hollywood screenwriter. As a member of the Creative Artist's Union, she is shocked to find out that the executive director, who is also her mentor, is found murdered on the night of a contentious board vote. With help from her father, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, and roommate, Maggie goes coast to coast to solve the mystery.

Several critics offered positive reviews of As Dead As It Gets. For example, Jenny McLarin, writing in Booklist, liked the lead character and went on to call the story "a first-rate mystery." A critic for Publishers Weekly noted that Kalish and Gurian often use stereotypes in their characterizations, but that they do "so with panache and enough originality to be refreshing." Concluding a Library Journal review, Rex E. Klett declared As Dead As It Gets "a lively, entertaining read."