# Louis Weitzenkorn

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American writer

Louis Weitzenkorn Born (1893-05-28)May 28, 1893 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S. Died February 7, 1943(1943-02-07) (aged 49) Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S. Occupation Writer Language English Alma mater Pennsylvania Military College Columbia University Period 1914–1938

**Louis Weitzenkorn** (May 28, 1893 – February 7, 1943) was an American writer and newspaper editor.[1] He wrote a play about journalism, *[Five Star Final](/source/Five_Star_Final_(play))*, that became a hit on [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) in 1931. It was adapted as a movie, and Weitzenkorn subsequently wrote several screenplays.

## Early life

Born in [Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania](/source/Wilkes-Barre%2C_Pennsylvania) in May 1893, Weitzenkorn attended the [Pennsylvania Military College](/source/Pennsylvania_Military_College) in [Chester, Pennsylvania](/source/Chester%2C_Pennsylvania). In 1912 he received a journalism degree from [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University).

## Career

In 1914 Weitzenkorn became a reporter for the *[New-York Tribune](/source/New-York_Tribune)*. He subsequently wrote for *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* and the *[New York Call](/source/New_York_Call)*. In 1924 he became features editor for the *[New York World](/source/New_York_World)*. In 1929 he took over as editor of the *[New York Evening Graphic](/source/New_York_Evening_Graphic)*, a popular but scandalous [tabloid](/source/Tabloid_(newspaper_format)) that was called the "porno-*Graphic*" by its critics.

While still working as a journalist, Weitzenkorn began writing fiction. In 1929, his play *First Mortgage* had a brief run on [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) at the [Broadhurst Theatre](/source/Broadhurst_Theatre), but closed after just four performances.[2] His experience with journalism inspired him to write another play, *Five Star Final*. [A. H. Woods](/source/A._H._Woods) produced it at the [Cort Theater](/source/Cort_Theater), where it opened on December 30, 1930. The play was a hit, running for six months with 175 performances.[3] He subsequently wrote a third play, called *And the Sun Goes Down*.[1]

*Five Star Final* was adapted as a movie in 1931 starring [Edward G. Robinson](/source/Edward_G._Robinson) and [Boris Karloff](/source/Boris_Karloff); the film was nominated for a [Best Picture](/source/Best_Picture) [Academy Award](/source/Academy_Award). Weitzenkorn wrote several other screenplays, including *[24 Hours](/source/24_Hours_(1931_film))* (1931), *[Men of Chance](/source/Men_of_Chance)* (1931) and *[The Devil is Driving](/source/The_Devil_Is_Driving_(1932_film))* (1932). His last screenplay was *[King of the Newsboys](/source/King_of_the_Newsboys)*, co-written with [Peggy Thompson](/source/Peggy_Thompson_(American_screenwriter)) in 1938, after which he became a reporter for the [New York Post](/source/New_York_Post).

## Personal life

Weitzenkorn was married five times.[4]

On the morning of February 7, 1943, Weitzenkorn's clothes caught fire as he was making a pot of coffee. His wife found him burned to death in a chair next to the stove.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NYT_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NYT_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-NYT_1-2) ["L. Weitzenkorn Perished in Fire"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0CE2DC1E39E33BBC4053DFB4668388659EDE). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. February 8, 1943. p. 21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["First Mortgage"](http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=10952). [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database). Retrieved June 18, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Five Star Final"](http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=11300). [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database). Retrieved June 18, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Ray, Martin (2010). *Joseph Conrad: Interviews and Recollections*. University of Iowa Press. p. 201. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-60938-017-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-60938-017-5).

## External links

- [Louis Weitzenkorn](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/7416) at the [Internet Broadway Database](/source/Internet_Broadway_Database)

- [Louis Weitzenkorn](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919380/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States France BnF data Netherlands Other Open Library Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Louis Weitzenkorn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Weitzenkorn) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Weitzenkorn?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.