Robert Rossen

 Robert Rossen (March 16, 1908 – February 18, 1966)

He was a screenwriter, film director, and producer whose film career spanned almost three decades. His 1949 film All the King's Men won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, while Rossen was nominated for an Oscar as Best Director. He won the Golden Globe for Best Director and the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. In 1961, he directed The Hustler, which was nominated for nine Oscars and won two. After directing and writing for the stage in New York, Rossen moved to Hollywood in 1937. From there, he worked as a screenwriter for Warner Bros. until 1941, and then interrupted his career to serve until 1944 as the chairman of the Hollywood Writers Mobilization, a body to organize writers for the effort in World War II. In 1945, he joined a picket line against Warner Bros. After making one film for Hal B. Wallis's newly formed production company, Rossen made one for Columbia Pictures, another for Wallis and most of his later films for his own companies, usually in collaboration with Columbia. A former member of the Communist party, Rossen was twice called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), in 1951 and in 1953.

He exercised his Fifth Amendment rights at his first appearance, refusing to state whether he had ever been a Communist. As a result, he found himself blacklisted by Hollywood studios as well as unable to renew his passport. At his second appearance he named 57 people as current or former Communists and his blacklisting ended. His last film, Lilith (1964), had many conflicts on the set, notably between Rossen and the star Warren Beatty. Rossen died in New York City at age 57 on February 18, 1966, following a series of illnesses. He is buried at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York.