Isobel Lennart

Isobel Lennart (May 18, 1915 – January 25, 1971) was an American screenwriter and playwright. She is best known for writing the book for the Broadway musical Funny Girl which premiered in 1964, although she also wrote scripts for successful Hollywood films featuring major stars, some of which received Oscar nominations. As a child, Lennart caught polio and spent 10 years in leg braces.

Professional life

Lennart worked in the MGM mail room in New York, a job she lost when she attempted to organize a union. In 1941, she was promoted from "script-girl to contract writer" at 20th Century Studios. IMDb credits her with work on 30 films and television episodes, most of which involved major stars such as Lana Turner, Doris Day, Danny Kaye, Robert Mitchum, Walter Pidgeon, Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Ava Gardner, and Cyd Charisse, and major directors such as Jules Dassin, Mervyn LeRoy, Charles Vidor, and Robert Wise. At least two of her screenplays, Merry Andrew and This Could be the Night, have been published.

Lennart's first script, The Affairs of Martha, an original comedy about the residents of a wealthy community who fear their secrets are about to be revealed in an exposé written by one of their maids, was filmed in 1942 with Spring Byington, Marjorie Main, and Richard Carlson. She was hired by MGM in a full-time position. and It Happened in Brooklyn (1947).

Lennart's later screen credits include A Life of Her Own, Love Me or Leave Me (for which she received an Academy Award nomination in 1955), The Sundowners (which also received an Academy Award nomination), and Two for the Seesaw.

In 1966, she won the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers Guild of America. By 1967 she was "commanding $100,000 per picture".

In the original production, Brice was portrayed by Barbra Streisand. It ran for 1,348 performances and catapulted Streisand to fame. In 1970, she said that she regretted this decision.