Biography
Jesse L. Lasky Jr. was an American screenwriter, novelist, playwright and poet. Born Jesse Louis Lasky Jr. on 19 September 1910 in New York City, he was the son of film producer Jesse Lasky Sr. He attended Blair Academy, the Hun School of Princeton and the University of Dijon in France, where he received a degree in literature.
Lasky wrote more than 50 screenplays, including eight for director Cecil B. DeMille. His credits include The White Parade (1934), Secret Agent (1936), Union Pacific (1939), Reap the Wild Wind (1942), Unconquered (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), Hell and High Water (1954) and The Ten Commandments (1956). He also contributed to television series such as The Saint (1962) and Space: 1999 (1975). He received Boxoffice Magazine Awards for Samson and Delilah and The Ten Commandments, and a Christopher Award. He wrote eight novels and his autobiography Whatever Happened to Hollywood? (1975). Lasky died on 11 April 1988 in London.
