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1894 February 28, - 1964 BEN HECHT (USA)
Novelist, playwright, and screen writer. He authored 35 books and many
screenplays. Although some of his earlier works that dealt with Jewish
themes were not overly sympathetic (A Jew in Love), he changed with the
rise of Nazism (A Guide for the Bedevilled) and became involved in Jewish
activism. During the 1940's, he staged two pageants, Remember Us and A
Flag Is Born, and became active in the Irgun Zvai Leumi. Due to his
political activities in Eretz Israel his credits were removed from all
films shown in England for a number of years. An illegal immigrant ship
was named Ben Hecht in his honor. Hecht wrote his controversial Perfidy
about the Kastner trial and attacked Ben Gurion and the Zionist
establishment for their conduct during the war. His best selling
biography is called A Child of the Century. Hecht worked on 150 films
including Monkey Business, Wuthering Heights, and Gone with the Wind as
well as the successful play The Front Page.
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