Norman Krasna

Humorist, playwright and screenwriter Norman Krasna went to great lengths planning for a career in law. He attended New York University, Columbia University and St. John's University law school but then abruptly changed his plans and started work as a copy boy at a New York newspaper. He had a brief stint as a drama critic for the Evening Graphic and wrote a column for the Exhibitor's Herald World and this likely awakened his interest in the film business. He was soon off to L.A. and finagled a job in the Warner Brothers publicity department. Upon seeing his first filmed play, The Front Page (1931), he decided there and then to become a playwright. Having obtained a copy of the original script, he re-typed it over and over to get the hang of style and methodology. This approach seems to have worked since Krasna soon published his first play (the comedy "Louder,Please") which opened on Broadway by November 1931. While not a huge hit, the play led first to a screenwriting contract with