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Robert Lees (July 10, 1912 – June 13, 2004) was an American television and film screenwriter. Lees was best known for writing comedy, including several Abbott and Costello films.

Key Information

Life and career

[edit]

Born in San Francisco, California, Lees graduated from Lowell High School in 1929. He started in show business as a dancer before becoming a writer for MGM Studios, where he was paired with writer Frederic Rinaldo. Their first screenplay was for the 1936 short film, The Perfect Set-Up. The short film was the first in the "Crime Does Not Pay" series. The series, which was produced by MGM in the 1930s and 1940s, were based on real life crime cases. Lees and Rinaldo continued to work on comedy shorts including, A Night At The Movies, starring Robert Benchley, and Penny Wisdom. The duo also worked on the 1937 films, Decathlon Champions and Candid Cameramaniacs from the Pete Smith Specialty series. In 1939, Lees and Rinaldo were nominated for an Academy Award for the 1939 biographical short film, Prophet Without Honor.[1]

After completing the comedy short An Hour For Lunch, in 1939, Lees and Rinaldo moved on to feature-length films with the 1940 drama, Street Of Memories. The pair worked on the sci-fi/horror films, The Invisible Woman and The Black Cat. In 1941, they wrote their first comedy for Abbott and Costello entitled, Hold That Ghost. In the following years, Lees and Rinaldo would go on to write six more movies for the comedy duo, namely, Hit the Ice, Buck Privates Come Home, The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, and Comin' Round the Mountain (1951). In 1952, an unused treatment they wrote for a service comedy at Paramount around 1943 was later adapted as Jumping Jacks for another comic duo, Martin and Lewis.[2]

In the early 1950s, Lees' career was virtually destroyed when he was put on the Hollywood blacklist by movie studio bosses during the McCarthy Era for alleged Communist activities. As a result of his blacklisting, he had associates submit manuscripts to the studios under the pseudonym "J. E. Selby." Lees also wrote pseudonymously for the British television series The Adventures of Robin Hood during the blacklist.[3] At age 91 he declared that the speech he delivered in 1951 to the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities was the best thing he ever wrote.[4]

Retirement

[edit]

After retiring from screenwriting in 1983 and becoming associated with sexologist Helen Colton, who would become his girlfriend to the end of his life, he became active in atheist and humanist circles, sometimes speaking at events.[5]

Murder

[edit]

On June 13, 2004, sometime around 11 a.m., Keven Lee Graff, a 27-year-old homeless man, broke into Lees' home. Graff attacked the 91-year-old Lees and decapitated him. Graff then left the home, carrying Lees's severed head, and broke into a neighboring house. The occupant of the home was a 69-year-old retired doctor, Morley Engleson. Graff then attacked and killed Engleson, who was on the telephone making a plane reservation. The Southwest Airlines ticketing agent heard the attack and phoned police.[6] Before police could arrive, Graff stole Engleson's 2001 Mercedes-Benz and left the scene.[7]

During a search through Engleson's house, police discovered Lees' severed head lying on a bed. Lees' longtime girlfriend, Helen Colton, discovered Lees' headless body, covered by blankets, in his bedroom some five hours later when she arrived to pick Lees up for an event at the Academy headquarters in Beverly Hills.[8]

The following day, Graff caught the attention of security guards at the gates of Paramount Pictures when he began behaving erratically; talking to himself and yelling at passing cars.[9] One security guard identified Graff from a picture that was shown on a televised news conference about the double murders, and phoned police.[10] When questioned about the crimes, Graff claimed that a man on the streets of Hollywood gave him methamphetamine and Ecstasy the night before the murders claiming he had no memory of committing the murders.[9]

In February 2008, Graff, under a plea bargain, pleaded guilty to ten felonies for the murders of Lees and Engelson. Under the plea agreement, Graff received two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.[11]

Filmography

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Writer

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Actor

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  • The Sin of Madelon Claudet a.k.a. The Lullaby (Uncredited, 1931)
  • Grand Hotel (Uncredited, 1932)
  • Rasputin and the Empress a.k.a. Rasputin the Mad Monk (Uncredited, 1932)
  • Dancing Lady (Uncredited, 1933)

References

[edit]
[edit]
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Robert Lees

View on Grokipedia
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Robert Lees was an American screenwriter known for his work on classic comedy films, particularly his collaborations with the comedy duo Abbott and Costello during the 1940s and early 1950s, before his career was disrupted by the Hollywood blacklist. Born in San Francisco in 1912 to a middle-class Jewish family, Lees initially pursued acting with bit parts at MGM before transitioning to screenwriting, where he formed a long-term partnership with Frederic I. Rinaldo. Their work included short subjects for MGM, such as Robert Benchley comedies, and later feature films, culminating in several successful Abbott and Costello pictures at Universal, including Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man. Lees' Hollywood career ended abruptly in 1951 after he was named before the House Un-American Activities Committee and refused to cooperate, resulting in his placement on the blacklist. He relocated to Tucson, Arizona, for a time, working as a maître d' while his credits occasionally appeared under duress or not at all. Returning to Los Angeles, he continued writing television scripts under pseudonyms for series including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Rawhide, Flipper, and Land of the Giants. Lees remained vocal about the injustices of the blacklist era, notably protesting the 1999 honorary Academy Award given to Elia Kazan. He was married to Jean Abel from 1939 until her death in 1982, with whom he had one son and one daughter. In his later years, Lees lived quietly in Los Angeles, where he was brutally murdered in his home on June 13, 2004, at the age of 91.

Early life

Birth and family background

Robert Lees was born on July 10, 1912, in San Francisco, California. He was the third and last child in a middle-class Jewish family. His father owned a clothing business in San Francisco. Lees grew up in San Francisco during the 1910s and 1920s. In his youth, he developed an early interest in show business by acting in school plays.

Education and early career

Robert Lees began studies at the University of California, but cut them short to work in his father's clothing business due to financial difficulties during the Depression. Thanks to a family connection with a film producer at MGM, he relocated to Los Angeles and began his professional career in the film industry as an extra and bit-part actor in the early 1930s, appearing uncredited in films such as Grand Hotel (1932). He later transitioned to screenwriting at MGM.

Entry into Hollywood

First screen credits

Robert Lees began his Hollywood career in the early 1930s at MGM Studios, initially working as an extra and in bit parts through a family connection to a film producer. He appeared in uncredited roles including a boatman in As You Desire Me (1932) and a bellboy in Grand Hotel (1932). After writing material for his own screen test, MGM valued his scripting more than his acting and assigned him to the studio's Junior Writers Department, where he met and began collaborating with Fred Rinaldo. Following the department's closure, the pair transferred to MGM's Short Subjects Department and contributed to various series including "Crime Does Not Pay," Pete Smith Specialties, historical featurettes, and Robert Benchley comedy shorts. Their first screenwriting credit was the 1936 short The Perfect Set-Up, part of the "Crime Does Not Pay" series. They continued writing shorts through the late 1930s, including How to Start the Day (1937), A Night at the Movies (1937), Penny Wisdom (1937), Decathlon Champions (1937), Candid Cameramaniacs (1937), The Story of Doctor Carver (1938), Prophet Without Honor (1939), and An Hour for Lunch (1939). In 1940, Lees and Rinaldo co-wrote their first feature-length screenplay, Street of Memories, produced by 20th Century-Fox. This work built their reputation as comedy writers and led to their signing by Universal Pictures in 1941.

Move to feature films

After years of writing short subjects at MGM, where he collaborated with Fred Rinaldo on entries in the "Crime Does Not Pay" series, Pete Smith Specialties, biographical featurettes, and several Robert Benchley comedy shorts including How to Train a Dog (1936) and How to Start the Day (1937), Robert Lees transitioned to feature-length screenwriting in the early 1940s. Their final short together was the Benchley comedy An Hour for Lunch (1939). Lees and Rinaldo's first feature film credit came with the drama Street of Memories, released by 20th Century-Fox in 1940. This marked a significant milestone as Lees moved from short-form comedy and informational content to full-length narrative features. Following this, they contributed to additional features that demonstrated a shift toward varied genres, including the science-fiction/horror comedy The Invisible Woman (1940) and the horror film The Black Cat (1941). In 1941, Lees and Rinaldo were signed to a contract by Universal Pictures.

1940s career peak

Universal Pictures work

Robert Lees began his tenure at Universal Pictures in the early 1940s, where he frequently collaborated with Frederic I. Rinaldo on screenplays for a variety of genres. Among his notable contributions was co-writing the screenplay for the science-fiction comedy The Invisible Woman (1940), alongside Curt Siodmak, Frederic I. Rinaldo, Gertrude Purcell, and others. The film, directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Virginia Bruce as a model who gains invisibility powers, blended fantasy elements with humor as part of Universal's lighthearted fantasy output during the period. In 1941, Lees co-wrote the comedy-mystery The Black Cat, with Frederic I. Rinaldo, Eric Taylor, and Robert Neville, loosely suggested by Edgar Allan Poe's story and featuring Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, and Broderick Crawford. This film emphasized comedic performances over horror, aligning with Universal's approach to adapting classic tales into more accessible entertainment. That same year, he also co-wrote the drama Bachelor Daddy with Rinaldo, further illustrating his range beyond comedy. These projects showcased Lees' ability to contribute to Universal's diverse 1940s slate of B-pictures and genre films, establishing him as a reliable screenwriter at the studio. His non-comedy team efforts at Universal ran parallel to his emerging work on Abbott and Costello films.

Abbott and Costello collaborations

Robert Lees played a key role in scripting several popular Abbott and Costello comedies during the 1940s, often collaborating with writers Frederic I. Rinaldo and John Grant to craft the duo's signature mix of slapstick, wordplay, and situational humor. His contributions helped shape the team's transition into horror-comedy hybrids at Universal Pictures, building on their established vaudeville-style routines with genre-infused plots. Lees co-wrote the screenplay for Hold That Ghost (1941) with Rinaldo and Grant, based on an original story by Lees and Rinaldo. The film casts Abbott and Costello as gas station attendants who inherit a gangster's fortune and end up in a haunted house filled with gangsters and ghosts, allowing for classic physical gags and spooky misunderstandings that prefigured the duo's later monster encounters. He followed this with co-screenplay credit on Hit the Ice (1943), again with Rinaldo and Grant. In this comedy, the pair portray photographers entangled in a bank robbery scheme at a winter resort, emphasizing fast-paced chases and mistaken identities typical of their work during this period. Lees also co-wrote Buck Privates Come Home (1947) and The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947), continuing his partnership with Rinaldo on these post-war Abbott and Costello vehicles. Lees' most celebrated contribution came with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), where he shared screenplay credit with Rinaldo and Grant. The film ingeniously pits the comedians against Universal's iconic monsters—Dracula (Bela Lugosi), Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange), and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.)—in a plot involving brain transplants and castle mayhem. Its standout scenes, such as the monster crate gags, blend genuine horror atmosphere with the duo's buffoonery, earning praise as a landmark horror comedy that revitalized both Abbott and Costello's careers and Universal's monster franchise. These films maintained the formula of pairing the comedians with notable guest stars and genre elements, solidifying Lees' role in the peak era of their Universal output.

The Hollywood blacklist

HUAC summons and testimony

In April 1951, Robert Lees was subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during its renewed hearings into alleged Communist influence in Hollywood, following his naming by actor Sterling Hayden in testimony on April 10, 1951. Lees, who had joined the Communist Party in 1939, appeared before the committee—then chaired by Representative John S. Wood—on April 11, 1951. He initially answered general questions about his background and screenwriting career but faced repeated inquiries about his longtime writing partner Fred Rinaldo and other associates. Feeling intimidated by what he described as harassment, Lees declared that the questioning compelled him to seek protection under the Fifth Amendment and invoked it to decline further answers. He later recalled sticking to this position despite additional questions that portrayed him as a dangerous agent of a foreign power, stating, “Of course, there were more questions that made me look like a very dangerous agent of a foreign power. I would have liked to answer some of the questions, which were outright lies, but my only recourse was to stick with the protection of the Fifth.” During the session, which lasted over an hour and a half, Lees denounced the committee's proceedings. He refused to state whether he was or had ever been a Communist and reportedly told the committee, “I know of people who can no longer work. Careers have been smashed. I have led a respectable life and the seventeen years of work have been destroyed.” His decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment rather than name names aligned with the approach of many witnesses who sought to avoid self-incrimination while resisting the committee's demands for cooperation.

Immediate career consequences

Following his appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951, where he refused to name names of alleged communist associates, Robert Lees was placed on the Hollywood blacklist by the major studios. This resulted in the immediate loss of his ability to work openly in feature films, as studios enforced the informal agreement not to hire uncooperative witnesses. His association with Universal Pictures ended abruptly. In one notable exception, Paramount Pictures produced the 1952 film Jumping Jacks from a pre-blacklist script by Lees and Frederic I. Rinaldo; the studio initially removed their names due to the blacklist but was required by the Screen Writers Guild to restore them and published a protest advertisement stating the credits were included against its wishes. Lees received no subsequent screen credits under his own name in feature films. The blacklist prevented him from securing new contracts or assignments in Hollywood during this period, forcing a complete break from credited studio work. The formal effects of the blacklist on Lees' career persisted until the early 1960s, when the industry began to ease restrictions on previously blacklisted writers.

Blacklisted period

Pseudonymous and uncredited writing

During the Hollywood blacklist, Robert Lees continued his screenwriting career primarily through television, authoring scripts under the pseudonym J.E. Selby (and occasional variants such as Jay Selby or Jay E. Selby). This allowed him to maintain professional output despite being barred from credited feature film work, as he reportedly never returned to motion pictures after the blacklist took effect. Under the J.E. Selby name, Lees contributed extensively to several popular series, most notably writing 21 episodes of Lassie between 1957 and 1964, along with episodes of Rawhide (three episodes in 1961–1962), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (one episode in 1959), and Death Valley Days (one episode in 1959). His pseudonymous work also included contributions to shows such as Gilligan's Island (one episode in 1966), Daktari (four episodes in 1966–1968), The Green Hornet (one episode in 1967), and Land of the Giants (one episode in 1968), reflecting a sustained television output across multiple genres and networks during the blacklist era and into the late 1960s. Although sources indicate he employed various pseudonyms for television scripts, the J.E. Selby credit predominates in surviving records, enabling Lees to navigate industry restrictions while continuing to produce material for anthology series, family-oriented programs, and Westerns. This body of covert work represents his primary creative activity during the blacklisted period before his eventual return to credited screenwriting.

Shift to television

Following his blacklisting from Hollywood feature films in the early 1950s, Robert Lees shifted to television writing to sustain his career. To continue working in the United States, he adopted the pseudonym J. E. Selby (sometimes listed as Jay Selby or Jay E. Selby) for credits on American series. He became particularly active with the long-running family series Lassie, writing 21 episodes between 1957 and 1964 under his pseudonym. Additional American television credits during this period include one episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1959, one episode of Death Valley Days in 1959, and three episodes of Rawhide in 1961 and 1962. Lees also contributed to British television productions unaffected by the American blacklist, notably writing episodes of the swashbuckler series The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1955 as part of producer Hannah Weinstein's practice of employing blacklisted American writers. This move to television, often under pseudonyms, enabled Lees to adapt his skills to episodic formats and maintain steady output amid industry restrictions.

Post-blacklist career

Return to credited screenwriting

After the decline of the Hollywood blacklist in the early 1960s, Robert Lees did not return to credited screenwriting under his own name for feature films. He never resumed writing for motion pictures, a field in which he had previously specialized in comedy. Instead, he continued contributing to television primarily under pseudonyms, most notably J.E. Selby. His post-blacklist television work included scripts for various series under these pseudonyms, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Daktari, Flipper, Land of the Giants, Lassie, Rawhide, and the British series The Adventures of Robin Hood. These credits reflected a shift toward family-oriented adventure and drama genres rather than the comedy that defined his earlier career. Lees' use of pseudonyms persisted even as other blacklisted writers began receiving on-screen credit under their real names during this era.

Later television and other media

After the blacklist period, Robert Lees shifted his primary focus to television writing, contributing scripts to a variety of family-oriented, adventure, and fantasy series from the late 1950s through the 1980s, often under the pseudonym J. E. Selby or variations such as Jay Selby. He wrote prolifically for the long-running family drama Lassie, authoring 21 episodes between 1957 and 1964. Lees also provided teleplays for several other notable series during the 1960s, including three episodes of the Western Rawhide in 1961–1962, three episodes of Flipper in 1966–1967, four episodes of Daktari from 1966 to 1968, and single episodes of sitcoms and action shows such as Gilligan's Island (1966), The Green Hornet (1967), The Second Hundred Years (1967–1968), and Land of the Giants (1968). His television contributions continued sporadically into later decades, culminating with a story credit for the segment "Scoobygeist" on The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show in 1983, which marked his final known writing project. No records indicate involvement in other media formats such as novels, plays, or articles during this phase of his career.

Personal life

Family and relationships

Robert Lees married Jean Abel in 1939, and they remained married until her death from cancer in 1982. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter. The Hollywood blacklist significantly disrupted Lees's family life, as he sold his house and relocated with his family to Tucson, Arizona, following his 1951 naming in HUAC proceedings and subsequent career consequences. After Jean Abel's death, Lees maintained a long-term relationship with Helen Colton, his girlfriend for the remainder of his life.

Political activism and views

Robert Lees held left-wing political views and was a member of the Communist Party, which he joined in 1939. He was also described as a staunch Democrat and an atheist. Lees never forgot the injustices of the McCarthy era and the Hollywood blacklist, maintaining his anger over the events throughout his life. In 1999, he played a prominent role in protests against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision to award an honorary lifetime-achievement Oscar to Elia Kazan, who had cooperated with the House Un-American Activities Committee by naming names. During the demonstration outside the ceremony, Lees carried a placard reading "Don't Whitewash the Blacklist!" In later years, Lees continued to speak publicly about the blacklist period, including at an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences event in April 2002 that reflected on the era.

Death

2004 murder

On June 13, 2004, Robert Lees was murdered in his home in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The 91-year-old screenwriter was killed during the early morning hours when Keven Lee Graff, a 27-year-old homeless man, entered his residence through an unlocked door. Graff decapitated Lees and carried the severed head over a backyard fence to the adjacent home of neighbor Dr. Morley Engelson, where Graff fatally stabbed Engelson while the latter was on the telephone making airline reservations. No clear motive for the attacks was established, with authorities noting that Graff may have been under the influence of methamphetamine at the time and that there was no apparent prior connection between him and the victims. Lees' body was discovered later that day by his longtime girlfriend, Helen Colton, when she arrived to pick him up for an event. Police found Engelson's body and Lees' severed head inside Engelson's home after a Southwest Airlines ticket agent reported hearing a disturbance during Engelson's call and alerted authorities. Graff was arrested the following day, June 14, 2004, near Paramount Studios after security personnel recognized him from a police broadcast.

Aftermath and investigation

On June 13, 2004, the bodies of Robert Lees and his neighbor Dr. Morley Engelson were discovered in their adjacent Hollywood homes following a 911 call prompted by a Southwest Airlines agent who overheard a disturbance during a phone conversation with Engelson. Police found Engelson's body along with Lees' severed head at Engelson's residence, while Lees' headless body was later located at his own home by his longtime girlfriend Helen Colton. The Los Angeles Police Department launched an investigation that rapidly identified 27-year-old transient Keven Lee Graff as the suspect through fingerprint evidence linking him to the crime scenes. After an LAPD news conference broadcast Graff's photograph, a Paramount Studios security guard recognized him and notified authorities, resulting in Graff's arrest on June 14, 2004, near the studio gates while he was carrying a Bible and a can of Mace. Police recovered Engelson's stolen Mercedes-Benz nearby, and authorities described the crimes as among the most gruesome they had encountered, with no apparent motive identified at the time. Graff was booked on suspicion of murder in both killings. In February 2008, he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, as well as additional charges including torture, mayhem, burglary, and sexual penetration with a foreign object, thereby avoiding the death penalty. On April 4, 2008, Los Angeles Superior Court sentenced him to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, plus restitution including $700 toward Lees family funeral costs to be directed to a scholarship fund. During the hearing, Graff described the killings as "senseless … for no reason," expressed limited memory of the events, questioned his mental state, and apologized, though he acknowledged that "sorry doesn’t cut it." Nearly a dozen family members and friends of the victims attended the sentencing. Lees was survived by a son, a daughter, and his girlfriend Helen Colton, who had been in a relationship with him for two decades; the neighborhood expressed shock over the rare violent crimes in an area previously known only for minor burglaries. Funeral services for the victims were pending as of mid-2004, though no further public memorials or statements from colleagues were widely reported in connection with the case resolution.

Legacy

Recognition in film history

Robert Lees is recognized in film history for his significant contributions to comedy screenwriting, particularly through his collaborations on Abbott and Costello films that skillfully blended slapstick humor with horror and supernatural elements. As co-writer with Frederic I. Rinaldo on seven Abbott and Costello vehicles during the 1940s and 1950s, Lees helped shape some of the duo's most enduring works, including Hold That Ghost (1941) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). Hold That Ghost, one of his early efforts, became a major commercial success as the team's third hit of 1941 and laid groundwork for later horror-comedy hybrids by spoofing haunted house and gangster tropes. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, co-written by Lees with Frederic I. Rinaldo and John Grant, stands out as a high point in his career and in comedy history. Upon release, it garnered some of the strongest reviews of any Abbott and Costello film, with Variety calling it “a rambunctious farce that is funny and, at the same time, spine-tingling” and The Hollywood Reporter praising its “crazy, giddy show that combines chills and laughs in one zany sequence after the other.” The screenplay navigated a complex plot—described by Lees and Rinaldo as unusually intricate for the team—with dual female leads and multiple monsters, delivering an affectionate homage to Universal's classic horror icons. The film has since attained lasting cult status, admired by figures such as Quentin Tarantino, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Garcia, and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2001 for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. Lees's work on these films reflects his role in advancing horror-comedy as a viable genre blend during Hollywood's Golden Age, with the titles frequently highlighted in retrospectives, legacy collections, and discussions of Abbott and Costello's comedic output. Despite interruptions to his career from the Hollywood blacklist in 1951, his earlier scripts continue to be regarded as exemplary within the team's filmography and in broader comedy history.

Contributions to blacklist scholarship

Robert Lees contributed to the documentation and discussion of the Hollywood blacklist primarily through his participation in oral history interviews and public advocacy related to the era's injustices. He provided a detailed interview to historian Paul Buhle for the book Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist (1997), a major scholarly collection of firsthand accounts from blacklisted film figures. In the interview, Lees recounted his 1951 appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he refused to name names and invoked the Fifth Amendment, leading to his blacklisting. He also described becoming disenchanted with communism in the mid-1950s after learning of Stalin-era atrocities, reflecting on the personal and ideological toll of the period. Lees further engaged with the blacklist's legacy in 1999 by participating in protests against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision to present Elia Kazan with an honorary Oscar, an award criticized for honoring Kazan's cooperation with HUAC. He attended demonstrations outside the awards ceremony and stated that Kazan "crawled through the mud for a [big money] contract at 20th Century Fox" and "should apologize," underscoring persistent divisions over accountability for naming names during the McCarthy era. These efforts, though not voluminous, offered valuable primary perspectives to academic and public understanding of the blacklist's impact on Hollywood.

References

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  2. https://www.vice.com/en/article/that-time-a-writer-of-famous-horror-comedies-got-beheaded/
  3. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0498738/
  4. http://www.filmbuffonline.com/InRemembrance/RobertLees.htm
  5. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robert-lees-730587.html
  6. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_invisible_woman
  7. https://beladraculalugosi.wordpress.com/1941-the-black-cat/
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  14. http://jimburroway.com/april-1951/
  15. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-hollywood-exiles-episode-9-1.7143663
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  19. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blacklisted-screenwriter-murdered/
  20. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/unearthing-a-forgotten-episode-of-hollywoods-blacklist-era-75-years-later-1235245525/
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  22. https://www.sixtiescity.net/CultTV/Swash/Swash1.htm
  23. http://kbadt.free.fr/articles/Bobby%20Lees.pdf
  24. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-27-me-beheading27-story.html
  25. https://www.dailynews.com/20080405/homeless-man-gets-life-for-beheading-screenwriter-killing-neighbor/
  26. https://www.alexfilmsociety.org/newsletters/Hold_Ghost_program_WEB.pdf
  27. https://www.tcm.com/articles/97205/abbott-and-costello-meet-frankenstein
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  29. https://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/kazan-protest.html
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