Richard Brooks

Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and occasional film producer. His outstanding works as director are Blackboard Jungle (1955); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958); Elmer Gantry (1960) – for which he won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay); In Cold Blood (1967); and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). 2Early life and career Brooks was born as Reuben Sax to Hyman and Esther Sax, Russian Jewish immigrants. Married teenagers when they immigrated to the United States in 1908, they found employment in Philadelphia's textile and clothing industry. Their only child Reuben Sax was born in 1912 in Philadelphia. He attended public schools Joseph Leidy Elementary, Mayer Sulzberger Junior High School and West Philadelphia High School, graduating from the latter in 1929. Sax took classes at Temple University for two years, studying journalism and playing on the school's baseball team. He dropped out and left home when he discovered that his parents were going into debt to pay for his tuition. He rode freight trains around the East and Midwest for a period of time but eventually returned to Philadelphia to seek work as a newspaper reporte