Sam Locke
Encyclopedia
Sam Locke was an American writer and director who worked in theatre, television, and film.
Born in Peabody, Massachusetts
, Locke was the son of a cantor
. He grew up in New York City and was educated at City College of New York
. In his early career, he mainly worked as a writer for radio and the theatre. He wrote scripts for the classic radio programs Grand Central Station
and Inner Sanctum Mysteries
. He wrote the musical books for six Broadway
musical
s: The Straw Hat Revue (1939), Tis of Thee (1940), Of V We Sing (1942), Let Freedom Sing (1942), Tidbits of 1946 (1946, which he also directed), and The Vamp
(1955). He had only one play that reached Broadway, Fair Game (1957), which garned mixed reviews and had a modest seven month run at the Longacre Theatre
. More successful was his play Women With Red Hair, which was performed off and on for more than 30 years in cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Rome, and Madrid.
In 1951 Locke made his first forray into television with an adaptation of Preston Sturges
' The Guinea Pig
for the program Studio One in Hollywood. He did not work in television again until 1958 when he authored an episode of Alfred Hitchcock
's Suspicion
. From here on out his career was chiefly centered on work as a screenwriter
for television. He wrote episodes for such TV series as Bachelor Father (1960), Peter Loves Mary (1961), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
(1964), The Donna Reed Show
(1964-1965), The Patty Duke Show
(1965-1966), McHale's Navy
(1964-1966), Gilligan's Island
(1964-1967), Tammy
(1965-1966), The Lucy Show
(1966), Green Acres
(1967), The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
(1969), The Flying Nun
(1969-1970), The Brady Bunch
(1970-1974), All in the Family
(1972-1973), Devlin
(1974), and Chico and the Man
(1978) among others. His last contribution as a television screenwriter was for a 1989 episode of DuckTales
.
Locke also wrote the screenplays to a few films, including two 1965 surfer flicks: The Girls on the Beach and Beach Ball
. His other film credits include the screenplays for Wild Wild Winter
(1966) and Schloss in den Wolken (1968).
Born in Peabody, Massachusetts
Peabody, Massachusetts
Peabody is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population is about 53,000. Peabody is located in Boston's North Shore suburban area.- History :...
, Locke was the son of a cantor
Cantor
Cantor is surname of:* Andrés Cantor , Spanish-language soccer announcer* Anthony Cantor , British diplomat* Arthur Cantor , American theatrical producer* Aviva Cantor , American journalist, lecturer and author...
. He grew up in New York City and was educated at City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
. In his early career, he mainly worked as a writer for radio and the theatre. He wrote scripts for the classic radio programs Grand Central Station
Grand Central Station (radio)
Grand Central Station was an American anthology radio series which had a long run on the major networks from 1937 to 1954. Produced by Himan Brown, Martin Horrell and others, the story content ranged from romantic comedies to lightweight dramas....
and Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum Mysteries, a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952, was created by producer Himan Brown. A total of 526 episodes were broadcast.-Horror hosts:...
. He wrote the musical books for six 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...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s: The Straw Hat Revue (1939), Tis of Thee (1940), Of V We Sing (1942), Let Freedom Sing (1942), Tidbits of 1946 (1946, which he also directed), and The Vamp
The Vamp
The Vamp is a musical comedy with music by James Mundy; lyrics by John La Touche; and a musical book by La Touche and Sam Locke which is based on a story by La Touche. The musical opened on Broadway on November 10, 1955 at the Winter Garden Theatre where it ran for a total of 60 performances until...
(1955). He had only one play that reached Broadway, Fair Game (1957), which garned mixed reviews and had a modest seven month run at the Longacre Theatre
Longacre Theatre
The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.-Theatre History:Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, it was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square...
. More successful was his play Women With Red Hair, which was performed off and on for more than 30 years in cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Rome, and Madrid.
In 1951 Locke made his first forray into television with an adaptation of Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
' The Guinea Pig
The Guinea Pig (play)
The Guinea Pig is a 1929 comedy in three acts by Preston Sturges, his first play to appear on Broadway.The Broadway production was directed by Walter Greenough and produced by Sturges. It opened on 17 January 1929 at the President Theatre, and ran for 64 performances, closing in March of that year....
for the program Studio One in Hollywood. He did not work in television again until 1958 when he authored an episode of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Suspicion
Suspicion (TV series)
Suspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC from 1957 through 1959. The executive producer of Suspicion was film director Alfred Hitchcock.-Overview:...
. From here on out his career was chiefly centered on work as a 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:...
for television. He wrote episodes for such TV series as Bachelor Father (1960), Peter Loves Mary (1961), Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre is an anthology television series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967...
(1964), The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
(1964-1965), The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
(1965-1966), McHale's Navy
McHale's Navy
McHale's Navy is an American television sitcom series which ran for 138 half-hour episodes from October 11,1962, to August 31, 1966, on the ABC network. The series was filmed in black and white and originated in a one-hour drama called Seven Against the Sea, broadcast on April 3, 1962...
(1964-1966), Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
(1964-1967), Tammy
Tammy (TV series)
Tammy is an American sitcom, starring Debbie Watson in the title role. Produced by Universal City Studios, 26 color half-hour episodes were aired on ABC from September 17, 1965 to March 11, 1966....
(1965-1966), The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
(1966), Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
(1967), The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (TV series)
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir is a situation comedy based on the 1947 film The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which was based on the 1945 novel by R.A. Dick. It starred Hope Lange as Carolyn Muir, a young widow who rents Gull Cottage, near the fictional fishing village of Schooner Bay, Maine along with her two...
(1969), The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun
The Flying Nun is an American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC based on the 1965 book The Fifteenth Pelican, by Tere Rios, which starred Sally Field as Sister Bertrille...
(1969-1970), The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
(1970-1974), All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
(1972-1973), Devlin
Devlin (TV series)
Devlin is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for ABC in 1974.-History:The series was inspired by the huge popularity of Evel Knievel and featured a stunt motorcyclist with a travelling circus, Ernie Devlin, and his siblings Tod and Sandy...
(1974), and Chico and the Man
Chico and the Man
Chico and the Man is an American sitcom which ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974 to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown , the cantankerous owner of a run down garage in an East Los Angeles barrio, and Freddie Prinze as Chico Rodriguez, an upbeat, optimistic Chicano...
(1978) among others. His last contribution as a television screenwriter was for a 1989 episode of DuckTales
DuckTales
DuckTales is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge comic book series, it premiered on September 18, 1987 and ended on November 28, 1990 with a total of four seasons and 100 episodes...
.
Locke also wrote the screenplays to a few films, including two 1965 surfer flicks: The Girls on the Beach and Beach Ball
Beach ball
A beach ball is an inflatable ball for beach and water games. Their large size ball and light weight take little effort to propel; they travel very slowly and generally must be caught with two hands, making them ideal for lazy games and for children...
. His other film credits include the screenplays for Wild Wild Winter
Wild Wild Winter
Wild Wild Winter is a 1966 Universal Pictures comedy film in the beach party genre, starring Gary Clarke and Chris Noel. It is directed by standup comedian Lennie Weinrib and produced by Bart Patton and is notable for featuring Jay and the Americans and the duo of Dick and Dee Dee in their only...
(1966) and Schloss in den Wolken (1968).