Jack Rose

1911–1995 · American screenwriter and producer

Biography

Jack Rose (1911-1995) was an American screenwriter and producer whose career centred on comedy during the postwar Hollywood years. Before turning to screenplays he wrote gags for Milton Berle and radio lines for Bob Hope, work that sharpened his ear for quick, punchy humour.

His best-known work came with the Hope and Bing Crosby pictures, among them Road to Rio, and later with family and romantic comedies. He worked repeatedly with the director Melville Shavelson, with whom he produced The Seven Little Foys in 1955. Rose also wrote and produced a Dean Martin romantic comedy and, for television, created and wrote the sitcom The Good Guys, which aired from 1968 to 1970.

He received three Academy Award nominations, for The Seven Little Foys, Houseboat and A Touch of Class. His legacy lies in the craft of classic American comedy rather than in a distinctive visual style. He died in 1995.

Key films

Road to Rio (1947)
The Seven Little Foys (1955)
Houseboat (1958)
A Touch of Class (1973)

Trivia

A sitcom of 42 episodes

Rose created and wrote The Good Guys, which ran for 42 episodes over one and a half seasons. Bob Denver, Herb Edelman and Joyce Van Patten starred in it.