Marvin S. Borowsky

Marvin Sidney Borowsky (September 28, 1907 – July 5, 1969) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and educator who appeared on Broadway in 1933 in the play We, The People.

Borowsky was born in the Atco neighborhood of Waterford Township, New Jersey, to Abraham and Rae Borowsky (née Friedman). He grew up first in Waterford Township and later in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He enrolled at Lehigh University as an English major, earning his bachelor's degree in 1929, though his primary interests centered on the theater. During his undergraduate years he directed plays over summer vacations, and under his leadership the Arden Theater grew into a successful professional theater. Following graduation, he pursued two years of playwriting study at the Yale School of Drama.

After completing his studies at Yale, Borowsky relocated to New York City, where he held a variety of positions including special lighting consultant, play reader, and stage manager. He wrote and sold two plays during this period, and it was in connection with this theatrical work that he appeared on Broadway in 1933 in We, The People. Despite selling the plays, neither was ever produced, and growing frustrated with the pace of New York producers, Borowsky and his wife moved to Hollywood in 1940.

His arrival in Hollywood led to his first screenwriting position at MGM Studios. Over the following years he wrote approximately seven screenplays for studios including RKO, Columbia Pictures, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox, among others. His produced screenplays include Free and Easy (1941), Reunion in France (1942), Escape in the Desert (1945), Pride of the Marines (1945), Somewhere in the Night (1946), Big Jack (1949), and Gambling House (1950). Beyond his own writing, Borowsky assisted fellow screenwriters with script problems, an experience that shaped his interest in teaching the craft. He lectured on playwriting at the University of Southern California before joining UCLA's Theater Arts Department as a professor of creative writing in 1961.

Outside of screenwriting, Borowsky published an Arthurian novel, The Queen's Knight, in 1955. He also maintained a career as a painter, with his work exhibited in several California museums. He served for many years on the board of directors of both the Writers Guild of America and the Motion Picture Relief Fund. In 1968 he took a sabbatical and traveled through Europe and Israel, gathering material for a book, conducting interviews, lecturing at the Tel Aviv Screen Center, and consulting with Israeli screenwriters.

Borowsky married Maxine Levy in 1931, and the couple had a daughter and a son. He died on July 5, 1969, in Los Angeles, California, following a two-month illness.