Robert L. Joseph
Encyclopedia
Robert L. Joseph was an American
theatre producer, playwright
, and screenwriter
.
Joseph's Broadway
credits included revivals of King Lear
, Major Barbara, and Heartbreak Hotel
. His 1960 play Face of a Hero starred Jack Lemmon
, Edward Asner, Sandy Dennis
, and George Grizzard
, but closed after two previews and thirty-six performances. He had even less success two years later with Isle of Children, starring Patty Duke
and Bonnie Bedelia
, which closed after only eleven performances.
Joseph's screen credits included The Hitch-Hiker
and The Third Secret
. For television he wrote the miniseries
World War III
, an adaptation of the Sidney Sheldon
novel Rage of Angels
, the television movie
SST: Death Flight
, and teleplays for Kraft Suspense Theatre
and Hallmark Hall of Fame
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatre producer, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
Joseph's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credits included revivals of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, Major Barbara, and Heartbreak Hotel
Heartbreak Hotel
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American rock and roll musician Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. His first number-one pop record, "Heartbreak Hotel" topped Billboards Top 100 chart, became his first...
. His 1960 play Face of a Hero starred Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, Edward Asner, Sandy Dennis
Sandy Dennis
Sandra Dale “Sandy” Dennis was an American theater and film actress. In 1966, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.-Early life:...
, and George Grizzard
George Grizzard
George Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage. He appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.-Life and career:...
, but closed after two previews and thirty-six performances. He had even less success two years later with Isle of Children, starring Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
and Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress best known for her supporting roles in the action film Die Hard and the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent...
, which closed after only eleven performances.
Joseph's screen credits included The Hitch-Hiker
The Hitch-Hiker (1953 film)
The Hitch-Hiker is a film noir directed by Ida Lupino about two fishing buddies who pick up a mysterious hitchhiker during a trip to Mexico....
and The Third Secret
The Third Secret (film)
The Third Secret is a 1964 British drama film directed by Charles Crichton. The screenplay by Robert L. Joseph focuses on an American newscaster who investigates the mysterious death of his psychoanalyst...
. For television he wrote the miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
World War III
World War III (TV miniseries)
World War III is an Emmy Award-winning miniseries that aired on the NBC network television in January 1982.-Plot:The miniseries begins in 1987 with a Soviet invasion of Alaska...
, an adaptation of the Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon was an Academy Award-winning American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show , I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart , but he became most famous after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game ,...
novel Rage of Angels
Rage of Angels
Rage of Angels is a 1980 novel by Sidney Sheldon. The novel revolves around young attorney Jennifer Parker, as she rises as a successful lawyer after being framed for threatening the chief witness against a Mafia boss by mistakenly giving him a dead canary with a broken neck which in turn leads to...
, the television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
SST: Death Flight
SST: Death Flight
SST Death Flight is a 1977 made-for-TV movie produced by ABC Circle Films. It featured an all-star television cast and was directed by David Lowell Rich, who went on to direct The Concorde ... Airport '79...
, and teleplays for Kraft Suspense Theatre
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Kraft Suspense Theatre, an anthology series, was telecast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall specials once monthly...
and Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
.