Discipline: Literature

Irwin Blacker

Discipline: Literature
MacDowell Fellowships: 1958, 1959, 1959, 1960
Irwin R. Blacker (1919-1985) was an author, screenwriter, producer, and educator who taught some of Hollywood's most accomplished writers, directors, and producers. Blacker taught at the University of Southern California from the mid- 1960's until 1978, when he retired. Among his students were many who went on to careers in Hollywood, including George Lucas, writer and director of Star Wars. Mr. Blacker wrote 22 fiction and nonfiction books as well as screenplays for television shows such as “Bonanza,” “Odyssey,” and “Conquest.” Among his books was the novel Search and Destroy, which he co-produced for television. He was working on a new novel and a textbook at the time of his death at age 65.

Studios

Sprague-Smith

Irwin Blacker worked in the Sprague-Smith studio.

In January of 1976, the original Sprague-Smith Studio — built in 1915–1916 and funded by music students of Mrs. Charles Sprague-Smith of the Veltin School — was destroyed by fire. Redesigned by William Gnade, Sr., a Peterborough builder, the fieldstone structure was rebuilt the same year from the foundation up, reusing the original fieldstone. A few…

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