Leonardo Bercovici Biography
Leonardo Bercovici (1908 - 1995) is a director, screenwriter, assistant director, born in 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. He began his writing career on Broadway, co-writing the play "Substitute for Murder" and the book adaptation "The Holmses of Baker Street." His film career began in 1938 with the release of Racket Busters (1938), from an original screenplay by Bercovici and Robert Rossen. He also provided stories for Prison Train (1938) and Chasing Danger (1939). During World War II, he worked for the motion picture division of the Office of War Information. Bercovici is best known for his work on two films released in the years following World War II: The Bishop's Wife (1947) and Portrait of Jennie (1948). During this period he also wrote the screenplay for The Last Moment (1947), adapted from Henry James' novel "The Aspern Papers", as well as the screenplay for Kiss The Blood Off My Hands (1948). In 1951, in the midst of the McCarthyite period, Bercovici was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee after being nominated by Edward Dmytryk and Richard Collins. He denied being a communist but would not say whether he had any previous ties to the party. He was later blacklisted and moved to Europe to find work. He wrote, produced and directed Square of Violence (1961) and The Story of a Woman (1970). Square of Violence was co-written by Bercovici's son, Eric, who went on to become a screenwriter and film and television producer. In the 1980s Bercovici began teaching writing workshops at UCLA. He continued to teach until shortly before his death in 1995.
