Julius J. Epstein (August 22, 1909December 30, 2000) was an American screenwriter, who had a long career, best remembered for his screenplay, written with his twin brother, Philip, and Howard E. Koch, of the film Casablanca (1942), for which the writers won an Academy Award. It was adapted from an unpublished play, Everybody Comes to Rick's, written by Murray Bennett and Joan Alison.

Biography

Epstein was born Julius Epstein as a twin to his brother Philip to a Jewish family on August 22, 1909, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York. Their parents owned a livery stable at a time when horses were widely used in the city. He and Philip both graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 1931, where they were champions in boxing; Julius became an NCAA Bantamweight Champion.

He died on December 30, 2000, in Los Angeles, California.

Career

Epstein shared an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay of Four Daughters, written with Lenore Coffee (with Thyra Samter Winslow contributing to the treatment and Lawrence Kimble contributing to the script), as an adaptation from Frances Hurst's novel, Sister Act.

In 1944, the Epstein brothers attempted their first film in the capacity of both writers and producers with "Mr. Skeffington." The picture was a box-office success and won both Bette Davis and Claude Rains Oscar nominations. After leaving Warner Bros. in 1948, the Epstein brothers wrote five more screenplays together, two of which, The Last Time I Saw Paris and The Brothers Karamazov, were released after Philip Epstein's death in 1952.

  • 1944: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Casablanca, adapted from an unproduced play, Rick's Cafe
  • 1973: Nomination for Academy Award for his adapted screenplay for Pete 'n' Tillie, adapted from two novels by Peter De Vries.
  • 1984: Nomination for Academy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award for screenplay of Reuben, Reuben, based on a De Vries novel.
  • 1998: Los Angeles Film Critics Association career achievement award.

References

  • Julius J. Epstein at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
  • Obituary on bbc.co.uk