Occupation Comedy writer Name Nat Perrin | Role Writer | |
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Born March 15, 1905The Bronx, New York ( 1905-03-15 ) Died May 9, 1998, Los Angeles, California, United States Movies Duck Soup, Song of the Thin Man, The Big Store, Keep 'Em Flying, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood Similar People Arthur Sheekman, Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Margaret Dumont, Leo McCarey | ||
Nat Perrin - Screenwriter
Nat Perrin (March 15, 1905 – May 9, 1998) was an American comedy film and television screenwriter, producer and director who contributed gags and storylines to several Marx Brothers films and co-wrote the script for the film Hellzapoppin' (1941) adapted from the stage musical. He is credited with writing the screenplay or story outline for over 25 films, including The Great Morgan (1945) and Song of the Thin Man (1947), as well as several television series.
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Biography
An attorney who never practiced, Perrin had landed a job in the Warner Bros. publicity department in 1930. He often told the story of how he made his way into Groucho Marx's dressing room in 1931 with a forged letter of introduction from Moss Hart. Groucho was impressed with Perrin, and arranged for him to be hired by Paramount Pictures for the film Monkey Business (1931). The two would go on to become lifelong friends. In the late 1930s, Perrin produced for Columbia Pictures, moving to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s. In the early 1950s, he became a producer for such shows as The Red Skelton Show and Death Valley Days. He produced and was head writer for The Addams Family series from 1964–1966.
Beginning in the late 1970s and well into his later years, Perrin taught screenwriting and film history at California State University Northridge.
His lifelong friendship with Groucho Marx, for whom he also wrote the Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel radio shows, came to a close when Perrin served as temporary conservator of the comedian's estate in 1977.