Edmund Beloin

Edmund Beloin (April 1, 1910 – May 26, 1992) was an American comedy screenwriter (film, radio, television) and a former fiction author and literary critic.

Beloin initially studied to become a doctor, however, he turned to writing fiction while studying medicine in New York, in the early 1930s. He started his career in radio with The Jack Benny Program and switched to writing for films in the early 1940s, and later for television.

He worked chiefly for Paramount in the 1940s and subsequently turned TV sitcom writer/producer. 

Edmund Beloin was born on April 1, 1910, in Stratford, Connecticut.

He attended New York University and Columbia University, New York, as a medical student before switching to writing fiction and literary criticism, in 1931.

Radio

Beloin started his career on the radio. In 1936-1937, he and Bill Morrow were signed to The Jack Benny Program for the 1936-1937 season and remained for seven years. He created the characters played by Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson and Phil Harris, as well as Mr. Billingsley and Carmichael the Polar Bear. He worked for the Benny Program until 1943.

After leaving radio in 1943, Beloin had tried to join the Army but was rejected on medical grounds. He continued working for Benny when Benny moved to films.

Films

In 1937, Beloin contributed to dialogues for Raoul Walsh's Artist and Models. 

1940 saw his first work as a screenwriter in Mark Sandrich's Buck Benny Rides Again, starring his friends from radio—Jack Benny, Phil Harris, and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson. The same year, he wrote the comedy Love Thy Neighbor—also directed by Sandrich and starring Jack Benny, and Eddie Anderson.

Beloin's major film credits include All in a Night's Work, Visit to a Small Planet, Don't Give Up the Ship, Paris Holiday, The Sad Sack, My Favorite Spy, The Great Lover, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and Road to Rio.

In 1949, Beloin produced the comedy The Great Lover (directed by Alexander Hall). The screenplay was done by him, Melville Shavelson, and Jack Rose.

As a screenwriter, Beloin frequently worked with American screenwriter/producer Henry Garson for much of his career. In 1960, the pair wrote Norman Taurog-directed musical comedy G.I. Blues, starring Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse, and Robert Ivers. For their work, they shared a nomination for "Best Written American Musical" at the 1961 Writers Guild of America awards.

Beloin and Garson wrote the Broadway play In Any Language, which was performed in 1952 (October 07 - November 15) at 138 West 48th St. Theatre Co., Inc. in New York. The play was produced by Jule Styne and George Abbott and directed by George Abbott. It received negative reviews and closed after 45 performances. However, the television adaptation on Broadway Television Theatre (1953) met with warmer reception (starring Mischa Auer and Audrey Christie). It also aired as an episode of The Chrysler Theatre, in 1965—directed by Lawrence Dobkin and starring Mabel Albertson and Leon Belasco.

Beloin's last screenwriting work was on a 1971 episode ("Another Day, Another Dollar") of the TV series The Smith Family. His last production was 30 episodes of Family Affair, which he co-wrote with Garson. 

Beloin was married to Lynn Hayden.

Beloin died of heart failure in Pompano Beach, Florida, on May 26, 1992, at the age of 82. He was survived by a wife, Lynn, and a son, John.

Film

Television