Philip Epstein

Philip G. Epstein (August 22, 1909 – February 7, 1952) was an American screenwriter and performer. Born in New York City to a Jewish family, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan alongside his identical twin brother, Julius. Their father, Harry, operated a livery stable during an era when horses remained a common presence in the city. Both brothers enrolled at Pennsylvania State College, where Philip earned his degree in 1931. After graduation, the two pursued different paths initially — Philip turned to acting while Julius took up professional boxing — before both eventually made their way to Hollywood to pursue careers in the film industry.

Epstein's stage work included a Broadway appearance in 1928, when he performed in the revue Hoboken Blues. His screen career proved far more extensive. Working frequently in collaboration with his twin brother Julius, Epstein became a prolific Hollywood screenwriter. Among his early credits was Gift of Gab in 1934, followed by The Strawberry Blonde and The Man Who Came to Dinner, both in 1941 and 1942 respectively.

Epstein's most celebrated achievement came with the screenplay for Casablanca in 1942, which he co-wrote with Julius and Howard Koch. The script was adapted from an unproduced stage play titled Everybody Comes to Rick's, authored by Murray Bennett and Joan Alison. The film earned the writing team an Academy Award.

Subsequent screenwriting credits included Mr. Skeffington and Arsenic and Old Lace, both in 1944, and The Last Time I Saw Paris, released posthumously in 1954. Epstein and his brother maintained a famously contentious relationship with Warner Brothers studio head Jack L. Warner, who objected to their work habits and pranks despite their commercial track record. In 1952, Warner submitted the brothers' names to the House Un-American Activities Committee. The two never testified before the committee, but on a HUAC questionnaire asking whether they had belonged to any subversive organization, they responded: "Yes. Warner Brothers."

Epstein married Lillian Targan in 1932. His son Leslie Epstein directed the creative writing program at Boston University and worked as a novelist, publishing a fictionalized account of his childhood, San Remo Drive: A Novel from Memory, in 2003. His grandson Theo Epstein served as general manager of the Boston Red Sox and later as president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs. His granddaughter Anya Epstein is a screenwriter. Philip Epstein died of cancer in Hollywood, California in 1952 at the age of 42. His brother Julius survived him by 48 years, dying in 2000 at the age of 91.