Epstein, Julius J. (1909–2000), and Philip G. (1909–1952)
EPSTEIN, JULIUS J. (1909–2000), AND PHILIP G. (1909–1952)
EPSTEIN, JULIUS J. (1909–2000), AND PHILIP G. (1909–1952), U.S. screenwriters. New York-born identical twins, Julius and Philip Epstein graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1931. They had their first play, And Stars Remain, produced by the Theatre Guild in 1936. After working separately for two years, they joined Warner Brothers and became the best-known screenwriting team of the 1940s. Their films included Daughters Courageous (1939), Four Wives (1939), No Time for Comedy (1940), Casablanca (1942), The Bride Came c.o.d. (1941), The Strawberry Blonde (1941), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), The Male Animal (1942), The Battle of Britain (1943), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Mr. Skeffington (1944), Saturday's Children (1946), Romance on the High Seas (1948), My Foolish Heart (1949), Take Care of My Little Girl (1951), Forever Female (1953), The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), and The Brothers Karamazov (1958).
In 1943, the Epstein brothers won a Best Screenplay Academy Award for Casablanca, which they had adapted from an unproduced play with the forgettable title "Everybody Comes to Rick's."
After Philip's death, Julius continued to work alone. Among his screenplays were his Oscar-nominated Four Daughters (1938), The Tender Trap (1955), The Reluctant Debutante (1958), Take a Giant Step (1959), Tall Story (1960), Light in the Piazza (1962), Fanny (1964), Send Me No Flowers (1964), Any Wednesday (1966), his Oscar-nominated Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), Cross of Iron (1977), House Calls (1978), and his Oscar-nominated Reuben, Reuben (1983).
In 1956 Julius won a Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement. In 1998, some 15 years after he had retired, Julius received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Career Achievement Award.
[Jonathan Licht /
Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)]