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John Sanford or John B. Sanford, born Julian Lawrence Shapiro (May 31, 1904 - March 5, 2003), was an American screenwriter and author who wrote 24 books. The ''Cambridge Companion to Jewish American Literature'' describes him as, "Perhaps the most outstanding neglected novelist." A one-time member of the Communist Party, after he and his wife Marguerite Roberts refused to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee, they were blacklisted and unable to work in Hollywood for nearly a decade. Sanford wrote half of his books after he was 80. He published a 5-volume autobiography, for which he received a PEN/Faulkner Award and the ''Los Angeles Times'' Lifetime Achievement Award. He left three unpublished novels and was writing up until a month before his death at 98. ==Biography== Julian Shapiro was born in Harlem, New York to a first-generation American mother and Russian immigrant father, who was a lawyer. Both were Jewish. His mother died in 1914 when he was only 10, which marked his life. He attended local public schools as a boy. After graduating from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, Shapiro studied law at Fordham University, obtaining his degree in 1929. A childhood friend of Nathanael West, Shapiro decided to focus on writing when West said he was writing a book.〔(John B. Sanford ''Intruders in paradise'', University of Illinois Press, 1997. )〕 Shapiro then wrote for ''avant-garde'' magazines (''The New Review'', ''Tambour'', ''Pagany'', ''Contact'') and gave up working as a lawyer.〔(John B. Sanford, ''The Waters of Darkness'', David R. Godine Publisher, 1986. p.293 )〕 In the summer of 1931, isolated in a log cabin in the Adirondacks, he finished his first novel, ''The Water Wheel''.〔(John B. Sanford/Robert W. Smith Collection, University of California, Santa Barbara )〕 When he was close to publishing his second book, ''The Old Man's Place'', his friend West (born Weinstein), suggested he change his name to one less identifiably Jewish.〔(John B. Sanford, ''The People from Heaven'', University of Illinois Press, 1996, p. XVII )〕 Shapiro used the name of a character from his first book and published his second under the pseudonym of John B. Sanford (which he adopted as his legal name in 1940).〔(The Life and Work of John Sanford. Biographical Overview )〕 They both thought that antisemitism could hurt their book sales. In 1935, the success of ''The Old Man's Place'' allowed Sanford to consider a screenwriter's career, and he moved to Hollywood.〔(Nathanaël West, Introduction by Jonathan Lethem, Afterword by John Sanford, ''Miss Lonelyhearts and the Day of the Locust'', New Directions Publishing, 2009 ): Sanford: "While there, I completed The Water Wheel, wrote a series of short stories and began a second novel, The Old Man's Place. That novel ultimately took me to Hollywood and Paramount Pictures. One of those stories ended my friendship with West ... "〕 In 1936, Sanford was hired by Paramount Pictures, where he met his future wife Marguerite Roberts, a screenwriter. The same year, he became involved in the Communist Party of the United States and would never renounce his political convictions. In 1939 Roberts signed the first of many contracts with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; she was one of the most respected and best-paid screenwriters of Hollywood. She was the moneymaker of the couple. Together, they wrote the scenario of ''Honky Tonk'' (1941). When Sanford was later offered a contract with MGM, Roberts encouraged him to devote his effort to his personal writing, which he did. While Sanford continued as a member of the Communist Party, Roberts was not as strongly committed. She became a member after meeting him, but turned back her card in 1947. Their associations resulted in their being called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. They both refused to give names, invoking the fifth amendment. This effectively ended their Hollywood careers. Roberts was blacklisted from 1951-1962. In 1957 they moved to Montecito, California, near Santa Barbara. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Sanford (author)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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