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Caryl Ledner
Born
Caryl Betty Goldsmith

March 22, 1921
Chicago, Illinois, US
DiedMarch 31, 1984 (aged 63)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeHillside Memorial Park
Occupation(s)Television writer, novelist
Years active1970 – 1983
Known forA Great American Tragedy (1972);
Mary White (1977)

Caryl Ledner (née Caryl Betty Goldsmith;[1] March 22, 1921[2] – March 31, 1984[3]) was an American television scriptwriter and story editor, novelist and biographer, best known for her Emmy-winning script for the 1977 made-for-TV film Mary White.

Early life and career

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Born in Chicago, Illinois, Ledner was of German-Jewish descent, the only child of Sidney J. Goldsmith and Jessie Rothschild.[4][5][6] By 1925 at the latest, it appears that the family had moved to New York City.[7] However, by no later than October 26, 1939, the date of her first and only wedding, the then 18-year-old Ledner and her family had relocated to the west coast,[1] as she and her husband initially lived with her parents in Los Angeles.[8]

It appears that by no later than 1948, more than two decades prior to the first work published under her name, Ledner was employed as a story editor at MGM.[9][10]

Ledner's first publicized screenwriting project, as reported in September 1970 by both Broadcasting and Variety, and by the Los Angeles Times shortly thereafter, was Wanda's World, a projected NBC soap opera, created by Ledner and former American Heritage editor Annette Welles, to be produced by Paramount Television. Concerning relations between residents of an integrated community, the series was to be developed under the supervision of Watts Writers Workshop founder and frequent Julia scripter Harry Dolan.[11][12][13] However, despite passing mentions of this upcoming series as late as August of the following year (most notably in the LA Times followup story on Ledner's 1971 authorial debut, which notes that both the book and the prospective TV series were drawn from the same person's life experiences[14]),[15] it appears that the project never progressed beyond the development phase.

Ledner's first published work was the well-received 1971 as-told-to autobiography, Ossie : The Autobiography of a Black Woman.[16][17][15] The book was named one the 33 best of 1971 by the American Library Association, which strongly recommended its use in high schools and in college Black studies programs.[18]

Reviewing A Great American Tragedy, Ledner's first produced screenplay, the story of a middle-aged aerospace engineer, portrayed by George Kennedy, who suddenly finds himself unemployed and seemingly unemployable, the New York Times' Howard Thompson notes that "[b]oth J. Lee Thompson's direction and Caryl Ledner's writing are best in the rather coolly dispassionate vignettes peeling down the prideful hero," while L.A. Times critic Kevin Thomas singles out Ledner's contribution.

In all aspects Miss Ledner is an excellent writer. She has ideas, perception and a sense of commitment. She can create an array of people whom we can recognize and care about. To top it off she has wit and style. Surely Caryl Ledner will be heard from again.[19]

Ledner's Tragedy script—especially in regards to the strong supporting role it afforded Vera Miles—got the attention of actress/aspiring producer Nancy Malone, with the result that Ledner provided the screenplay for Malone's producing debut, the 1975 NBC TV movie Winner Take All (originally titled Time Lock).[20] The film itself, which concerns a seemingly happily married housewife—portrayed by Shirley Jones—who is quickly revealed to be in the throes of gambling addiction (a crisis which, like that undergone by Kennedy's character in Tragedy, stresses the protagonist's marriage to the breaking point[21][22]), was well received,[23] although director Paul Bogart later described the effect of rewrites made at the network's insistence to Ledner's original script—which had attracted him to the project in the first place—as "disastrous".[24]

Ledner's first novel, The Bondswoman, was published by St. Martin's Press in the summer of 1977.[25] In the March of that year, the WGA West Newsletter reported that the book's publisher, St Martin's Press, had already initiated discussions with Ledner regarding a possible sequel.[26] However, despite both that report and the novel's own dust jacket bio stating that Ledner "is presently at work on a sequel to The Bondswoman,"[27] no sequel appears to have been published.

Meanwhile, plans to make a TV movie entitled Mary White—based on newspaper editor William Allen White's famous recounting of his late daughter's tragically abbreviated life—were afoot as early as May 1974, when producer Robert Radnitz's intention to make the film—facilitated by the favorable impression his prior work had made on one particularly influential White family friend, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas—was first reported by Hollywood columnist James Bacon.[28] Ledner's name, as credited screenwriter, was attached to the project in March 1976,[29] but it was not until May of the following year that production got underway.[30] The film finally aired on November 18, 1977. Aside from a raft of glowing press clippings,[31] Mary White eventually earned Ledner both a Christopher Award for "Distinguished Achievement in TV" and an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy - Adaptation.[32][33]

Ledner also novelized her Mary White script for Bantam Books, published in December 1977. Termed "a rather fine little novel" by El Paso Times critic Dale L. Walker, Ledner's novelization was deemed even better than the film by the Manhattan Mercury's Roy Bird.[9]

Personal life and death

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Ledner was married to Gerald Andrew 'Jerry' Ledner from 1939 until her death. They had two daughters.[1][34]

After having suffered from multiple sclerosis for several years[35] (and having publicly advocated for the right to die the previous January),[36] Ledner died in Los Angeles on March 31, 1984, after what was described by the Los Angeles Times as "a long illness."[37] A tribute penned by Ledner's colleague Oliver Crawford, published on April 2 in the WGA West Newsletter, indicates that in addition to that unnamed longstanding illness, Ledner had recently contracted yet another disease (likewise unnamed), which she elected not to treat, on the grounds "even if it [i.e. "the second serious illness"] can be arrested, it will not alleviate the first."[38] Moreover, the funeral announcement published in the same day's Los Angeles Times, while maintaining the stance of official non-disclosure, does inform readers that, "In lieu of flowers, family prefers donations to Multiple Sclerosis or the American Cancer Society." Ledner's remains are interred at Hillside Memorial Park.[34]

Works

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Books

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  • Guffe, Ossie; Ledner, Caryl (1971). Ossie : The Autobiography of a Black Woman. W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Ledner, Caryl (1977). The Bondswoman. New York: St. Martin's Press.
  • Ledner, Caryl (1977). Mary White. New York: Bantam Books.
  • Chang, Diana (1978). The gift of love; Based on a teleplay by Caryl Ledner. New York: Ballantine Books.

Filmography

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Notes

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  1. ^ The episode was never seen in the United States, as NBC cancelled the show after episode 6 aired on December 30, 1976. However, the short-lived series was also broadcast by TV networks in England and Wales, both of which did air the episode.[41][42]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "California, County Marriages, 1850-1953", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8VD-7BN : 18 August 2022), Gerald Andrew Ledner and Caryl Betty Goldsmith, 1939.
  2. ^ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N77N-J9N : 6 October 2022), Caryl Betty Goldsmith, .
  3. ^ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VP8C-83R : 26 November 2014), Caryl G Ledner, 31 Mar 1984; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
  4. ^ "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4KG-YSD : Thu Sep 21 16:23:21 UTC 2023), Entry for J Sidney Goldsmith and Josie Goldsmith, 1930.
  5. ^ "Deaths, Funeral Announcements". Los Angeles. January 19, 1958. Pt. 1A, pg. 13.
  6. ^ "The Week Ahead: Authors to Talk". The Los Angeles Times. December 2, 1973. p. WS2. ProQuest 157388195. WEST LOS ANGELES—A series of conversations with three Jewish authors in December at 10 a.m. at University Synagogue, 11960 Sunset Blvd. [...] 'One to One: How People Relate to Each Other' will be examined by Ms. Caryl Ledner on Dec. 9.
  7. ^ "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4KG-YMG : Thu Sep 21 16:24:01 UTC 2023), Entry for J Sidney Goldsmith and Jessie Goldsmith, 1930.
  8. ^ "United States Census, 1940", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K97Z-922 : Sat Sep 23 07:11:36 UTC 2023), Entry for Sidney Goldsmith and Jessie Goldsmith, 1940.
  9. ^ a b Bird, Roy (June 18, 1978). "A Second Look at Mary". The Manhattan Mercury. pp. D1, D2.
  10. ^ Cohen, Allen (1997). John Huston : A Guide to References and Resources. New York : G.K. Hall. p. 584. ISBN 0-8161-1619-9.
  11. ^ "Program notes: Integration analyzed". Broadcasting. September 21, 1970. p. 54. ProQuest 1016860049. Half-hour serial being developed for NBC-TV by Paramount Television will explore the lives of black and white families living next door to each other. Series, Wanda's World, is under the supervision of Harry Dolan, author of several Julia scripts and head of the Watts Writers Workshop in Los Angeles. Caryl Ledner, author of Ossie, autobiography, and Annette Welles, former editor of American Heritage, created the concept for the show.
  12. ^ "Par-TV's Sudser". Variety. September 23, 1970. p. 49. ProQuest 1505820931. Paramount-TV is developing a half-hour soaper on life in an integrated community for NBC-TV. Titled 'Wanda's World,' the serial concerning the lives of next-door black and white families was created by Caryl Ledner and Antoinette Welles. They will work with Harry Dolan, a 'Julia' scripter, in prepping the show and the first order of scripts.
  13. ^ "An Integrated Setting for New Serial". Los Angeles Times. October 9, 1970. p. 18D. ProQuest 156509142. The agreement between the studio and the network was announced by W. L. Baumes, director of daytime and live program development for Paramount TV, who is in charge of the project. Caryl Ledner and Annette Welles created the concept for Wanda's World, the title of the new serial. Dolan has written 10 scripts for the Julia television series and heads the Watts Writers Workshop in Los Angeles.
  14. ^ Cartnal, Alan (August 27, 1971). "'Ossie': Matriarch's Story of Oppressed; 'Ossie': Story of Oppressed". Los Angeles Times. Pt. IV, p. 7. "The Watts Writers Workshop will dramatize scenes from the book Sept. 10 and discuss the role of the matriarchy in the black community. Caryl Ledner is preparing a daily serial for NBC-Paramount television called 'Wanda's World,' based on her experiences with Ossie."
  15. ^ a b Cleaver, Jim (May 20, 1971). "Kleaver's Klippings: Mrs. Ossie Guffy is Truly a Part of Black America". Los Angeles Sentinel. p. A7. ProQuest 565006683. Ossie Guffy and her new book have also opened some new inroads for the black community as a whole. On the strength of the book, a new black soap opera is presently being written and quite possibly might be aired in the coming months.
  16. ^ Kirsch, Robert (April 30, 1971). "A Voice From the Ghettos". Los Angeles Times. p. G6. ProQuest 156636059. Occasionally a voice, individual and recognizable, rises insistently out of the ghettos and the barrios. Most often it is the voice of a man, writing out of the hard and angry realities of this life. But it is rare indeed to hear the voice of a black woman. That alone is why OSSIE, the Autobiography of a Black Woman, by Ozzie Guffy, as told to Caryl Ledner (Norton, $6.50) cries out to be read. It is coherent and candid, written without a trace of self-pity, and uncompromising in telling it like it is and was.
  17. ^ Buckmaster, Henrietta (June 24, 1971). "So farewell welfare". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 9. ProQuest 511170113. This is a book filled with love and self-respect, with courage and accomplishment — at the bottom of the barrel. Ossie Guffy is real. She lives in Watts, California. She lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. [...] This poignant, irresistible, tough-tender, shaking-up book gives us something to be greatly prized. Ossie's conclusions alone are worth the price of the book many times over.
  18. ^ "Who's Doing What: In Print". WGA Newsletter. June 1975. p. 18. ProQuest 2320681222. Carol Ledner's second book, 'The Bondswoman,' has been bought by Avon for Spring 1976 publication. Her first, 'Ossie—The Autobiography of a Black Woman,' a 1971 release, was chosen by the American Library Association as one of the 33 best. They highly recommend it for Senior High Schools and College Black Studies programs.
  19. ^ Thomas, Kevin (October 18, 1972). "TV Movie Review: A Tragedy to Identify With". Los Angeles Times. Pt. IV pg. 2.
  20. ^ Witbeck, Charles (February 26, 1975). "Keynote: Nancy Malone's gambling on 'Winner' show". The Morning Call. p. 42.
  21. ^ "Wednesday, Oct. 11". Courier-Post. October 7, 1972. p. TV8. ProQuest 1918067971. George Kennedy and Vera Miles find their marriage shaken to its foundation when he loses the job he has held for more than 20 years and becomes an unemployment statistic in 'A Great American Tragedy,' a contemporary social drama on the ABC Television Network's 'Wednesday Movie of the Week' at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 6.
  22. ^ "Monday, March 3, 1975; Evening". Burlington Free Press. March 1, 1975. p. 11A. ProQuest 1956149220. 'Winner Take All' starring Shirley Jones, Laurence Luckinbill. A woman's addiction to all forms of gambling becomes progressively worse and threatens to ruin her marriage.
  23. ^ Swain, Dwight V. (1976). Film Scriptwriting : A Practical Manual. New York: Hastings House. pp. 251–272. OCLC 991588519. See also:
  24. ^ Kasindorf, Martin (March–April 1975). "Diary of a TV Movie". Action. pp. 6–12.
  25. ^ "A Listing of Recently Published Books". New York Times. August 30, 1977. p. 22. ProQuest 123428867. November ... December, by George Bower (Dutton. $7.95). Young college man in early 60's comes of age. The Bondswoman, by Caryl Ledner (St. Martin's, &8.95). Slave kept as mistress struggles for her freedom.
  26. ^ "Who's Doing What: In Print". WGA Newsletter. March 1977. p. 18. ProQuest 2293614480. St. Martin's Press has invited Caryl Ledner to N.Y. to discuss the publication of a sequel to her 'The Bondswoman.'
  27. ^ Ledner, Caryl (1977). The Bondswoman. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-08767-5.
  28. ^ Bacon, James (May 26, 1974). "'Sounder' Director Judged". The Pittsburgh Press. p. F-1
  29. ^ "'Mary White' On ABC". Variety. March 17, 1976. p. 62. ProQuest 1505820931. The life of Mary White, daughter of William Allen White, the famous newspaper editor of the 1920's and 1030's, will be the subject and title
  30. ^ "Mary White Role Is Cast; Filming to Start Tuesday". The Emporia Gazette. April 29, 1977. p. 1.
  31. ^ Gardella, Kay (November 18). [ "Father and Daughter"]. New York Daily News. p. 110. See also:
  32. ^ "Christopher Awards". WGA Newsletter. April 1978. p. 6. ProQuest 2293616780. 'Distinguished achievement' is based on the criteria of affirming the high value of the human spirit, artistic and technical proficiency and significant degree of public acceptance. Honored were Esther & Richard Shapiro, 'Minstrel Man'; Jerry McNeely, 'Something for Joey'; Bill Moyers & Tom Spain, 'The Fire Next Door'; Dr. Robert E. Fuisz, 'The Body Human'; Anthony Burgess, Franco Zeffirelli, Suso Cecchi D'Amico, 'Jesus of Nazareth'; Theodore J. Flicker, Allan Balter, 'Just a Little Inconvenience'; W.W. Lewis, 'Tut: the Boy King'; Romeo Muller, 'The Hobbit'; Caryl Ledner, 'Mary White'; and James Poe, 'The Gathering.'
  33. ^ "Advertisement: Radnitz/ Mattel Productions". The Hollywood Reporter. September 25, 1978. p. 7. ProQuest 2598200538. Radnitz/Mattel Productions congratulates 'Caryl Ledner' on her Emmy Award for writing in a special program Drama or Comedy – adaptation Mary White.
  34. ^ a b "Death Notices; Funeral Announcements". The Los Angeles Times. April 2, 1984. p. III-19
  35. ^ Lonsdale, Jon (January 3, 1981). "Woman Confesses to Condo Fire: Undergoing Mental Tests at UCLA Hospital". Los Angeles Times. p. B1. ProQuest 152697411. Tenants had nothing but praise for off-duty fireman Bill Larimer, a resident, who helped evacuate the building. [...] Another resident, Caryl Ledner, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and cannot walk, said Larimer came to her door 'and offered to carry me downstairs.
  36. ^ "Letters to the Times: Law vs. the Right Not to Suffer". The Los Angeles Times.
  37. ^ "Emmy-Winning TV Film Writer Caryl Ledner". Los Angeles Times. January 11, 1984. pt. II, pg. 4.
  38. ^ Bennett, Seymour; Bennett, Connie Lee; Crawford, Oliver (June 1984). "Tribute to Caryl Ledner; Eulogy". WGA West Newsletter. p. 25.
  39. ^ Hamner, Earl; Giffin, (2002). Goodnight John-Boy. Naperville, IL: Cumberland House. p. 104.
  40. ^ "Programmes November 8–14". NZ Listener. November 8, 1975. p. 80.
  41. ^ "Television: Thursday". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. May 26, 1977. p. 2.
  42. ^ "Television Guide". Gwent Gazette. October 6, 1977. p. 6.

Further reading

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