Jerome Coopersmith

Jerome Coopersmith (August 11, 1925 – July 21, 2023) was an American dramatist known for television, theater, and his work as a professor of screenplay writing. Working in the television industry since 1947, Coopersmith authored more than 100 television scripts for anthology dramas, episodic series and television movies and specials. His television work included Johnny Jupiter (1953-1954), Armstrong Circle Theater (1955–1963), Hawaii Five-O (1967–1976), and Streets of San Francisco (1973), and the holiday classics 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974) and An American Christmas Carol (1979). Coopersmith's theatrical plays span Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional productions. His Broadway musical, Baker Street (1965), based on the stories of Sherlock Holmes, earned him a Tony Nomination as Author of Best Musical. He was a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Mystery Writers of America, and was a member and past officer of the Writers Guild of America, East. On November 12, 2019, at age 94, Coopersmith was honored with the highest distinction of Chevalier, or Knight, in the National Order of the French Legion of Honor in recognition of his service to France in World War II.

Jerome Coopersmith was born in New York in 1925. At age 16, he landed his first job as an office boy for the Shubert Theatrical Company in New York City. Coopersmith's education was interrupted by two years of service in World War II. While part of the 94th Infantry Division of the US Army, he saw combat at The Battle of the Bulge and was awarded a Purple Heart after being shot in the chest. He also was awarded a Combat Infantryman Badge; a Bronze Star Medal; a European Theater of Operations Medal with three battle stars; and the highest distinction in the National Order of the French Legion of Honor.

In 1945, 20-year-old Coopersmith returned to college and earned his degree from New York University.

Jerome Coopersmith landed his first television job in 1947 with pioneer TV producer Martin Stone, who had a number of shows on the air including the popular children's show Howdy Doody. Coopersmith's first assignment was with the quiz show entitled Americana which challenged a panel of high school students to answer questions about American history based on brief dramatizations performed by actors. Coopersmith wrote the short vignettes of American history which aired on the show.

This led to Stone's production of The Gabby Hayes Show, a series of full half-hour dramas of events in American history. The stories were co-written by Jerome Coopersmith and the more experienced playwright Horton Foote. Foote was a mentor to Coopersmith, and together they wrote more than 50 episodes which aired on NBC. Many successful actors began their television careers on the show, including Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, and Leslie Nielsen.

In 1952, Martin Stone wanted to try his hand at producing a comedy, and so he and Coopersmith came up with the idea of a series called Johnny Jupiter about a television studio janitor, played by Vaughn Taylor, who succeeds in contacting the planet Jupiter. His attempt to explain the strange ways of Earth to the Jupiterians, portrayed by hand puppets, provided the satirical content of the series. In reviewing the show, Jack Gould of The New York Times wrote, “If Mr. Coopersmith can sustain the brilliant pace of the opening show, he obviously is going to move quickly to the head of the class among TV's satirists.” The 13-week series was produced on the independent station, DuMont Television Network, and was extended for another 26 weeks as a sitcom on ABC.

By 1954, the one-hour anthology drama series, such as The Philco Television Playhouse and The United States Steel Hour had become extremely popular. David Susskind, wishing to enter that realm, took over as executive producer of Armstrong Circle Theater, originally a half-hour dramatic show, and recruited Coopersmith to help him change the show's format. The series was reinvented as a one-hour docu-drama based on true stories and real events, and at Coopersmith's suggestion, each episode was narrated by a renowned newscaster to stress the reality of the series. Coopersmith's first episode, The Strange War Of Sergeant Krenzer, was the true story of United States Sergeant Werner Krenzer, an army sergeant in Korea who was given the job of rounding up homeless kids on the streets and placing them in shelters, but the kids didn't want to go. Coopersmith became a principal writer for the Armstrong Circle Theatre, penning 19 additional teleplays airing from 1955 to 1963^{[citation needed]} and providing him with some extraordinary experiences. For the episode "SSN 571 The Nautilus", Coopersmith took a 6-day underwater journey in America's first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, for which his agents and lawyers required David Susskind to insure Coopersmith's life for one million dollars. The episode "I Was Accused" was based on the true experience of actor George Voskovec, who was kept interned at Ellis Island during the days of Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch hunt". For this teleplay, Coopersmith was presented with the 1956 Robert E. Sherwood Award by a committee that included Eleanor Roosevelt.

In 1964, Coopersmith wrote an episode for Decision: The Conflicts of Harry S. Truman, A documentary series based on the writings of Harry S. Truman during his U.S. presidency, produced by Ben Gradus for Screen Gems. Coopersmith met President Truman when he wrote the 25th episode, "I Am an American", reflecting on the attempted assassination of Truman in 1950. By 1965 the series was widely broadcast and was reaching about 70% of American households.