Editing Harry Segall (section)

{{short description|American screenwriter}}

'''Harry Segall''' (April 10, 1892 &ndash; November 25, 1975) was an American [[playwright]], [[screenwriter]] and television writer.

Segall was born in [[Chicago]].

Harry Segall's writing career spans 1933 to 1959. Segall's plays, including ''[[Lost Horizons (play)|Lost Horizons]]'', appeared on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in the mid-1930s. In 1933, [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] brought Segall to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|Hollywood]] as a contract writer. In 1936, he moved to [[RKO Pictures]] where he wrote and co-wrote [[screenplay]]s for [[film]]s such as ''[[The Outcasts of Poker Flat]]'', based on a story by [[Bret Harte]] and ''[[Blind Alibi]],'' starring [[Richard Dix (actor)|Richard Dix]]. During this time, [[Paramount Pictures]] and [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] also produced his screenplays.

In 1941, Segall won an [[Academy Award]] for best original story for the film ''[[Here Comes Mr. Jordan]]'', starring [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]] and [[Evelyn Keyes]], based on Segall's play ''[[Heaven Can Wait (play)|Heaven Can Wait]]''. The play was later revived under the title ''Wonderful Journey'', but the revival lasted only nine performances.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=1497|title=Wonderful Journey – Broadway Play – Original - IBDB|first=The Broadway|last=League|website=www.ibdb.com}}</ref>

A Technicolor sequel to ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan'', ''[[Down to Earth (1947 film)|Down to Earth]]'' was released in 1947 starring [[Rita Hayworth]] and [[Larry Parks]]. 

A 1978 film version of ''[[Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)|Heaven Can Wait]]'' starred [[Warren Beatty]] and [[Julie Christie]], and the play was then filmed again as ''[[Down to Earth (2001 film)|Down to Earth]]'', a 2001 vehicle for [[Chris Rock]], with Segall credited as the writer of the original story.

With the advent of television, Segall turned his writing talents to this medium, writing plots for TV series and ''[[Playhouse 90]]''. He retired from screenwriting in 1959 and died November 25, 1975, in Woodland Hills, California. Segall was interred in Roosevelt Cemetery, in Gardena, California.