Voting Station

Morrie Ryskind

Please vote to return to collections.

Playwright

The Resume

    (October 20, 1895-August 24, 1985)
    Born in New York CIty, New York
    Playwright and screenwriter
    Frequently collaborated with George S. Kaufman and George and Ira Gershwin
    Plays include 'Animal Crackers' (1929), 'Strike Up The Band' (1930), 'Of Thee I Sing' (1931), 'Let Them Eat Cake' (1933) and 'Louisiana Purchase' (1941)
    Screenwriter for 'The Coconuts' (1929), 'Animal Crackers' (1930), 'A Night at the Opera' (1935), 'My Man Godfrey' (1936), 'Stage Door' (1937), 'His Girl Friday' (1940), 'Penny Serenade' (1941) and 'It's in the Bag' (1945)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was expelled from Columbia six weeks before graduation after he called university president Nicholas Murray Butler 'Czar Nicholas' in the campus humor magazine.
    He went from being a member of the Socialist Party of American to joining the far-right John Birch Society.
    He appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee as a 'friendly witness.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for 'Of Thee I Sing' -- and received the Prize from the same Nicholas Murray Butler who had expelled him from Columbia.
    He was twice nominated for Oscars, for the scripts for 'My Man Godfrey' and 'Stage Door.'
    He wrote one of Groucho Marx's best-known quips, 'One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know.'
    He left the Birchers over their loopier claims of FDR, Truman, and Eisenhower being Soviet agents.
    He raised the money that let William F. Buckley launch the magazine 'National Review.'
    He was married to Mary House for 55 years.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying