Morrie Riskin essays

Morrie Riskin essays Morris (Morrie) Ryskind was born to Abraham and Ida (Etelson) Ryskind on October 20, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. Ryskind graduated from Townsend Harris High School in 1912 and from there, went on to Columbia University School of Journalism. At Columbia, Ryskind was the editor of The Jester. This publication was (and still is) the campus' humor magazine. In this publication, Ryskind had the ability to poke fun at issues and, also, people. However, a published editorial of his in 1917 post-poned his college graduation. Six weeks before he was to graduate, Ryskind wrote an editorial in which he referred to the then Columbia President Nicholas Murray Butler as "Czar Nicholas." Due to this, Ryskind was expelled. However, he was later awarded his degree in 1942 (The New York Public Library: Digital Library Collection). Though expelled from Columbia, this did not hurt his career as a columnist. Soon after, Ryskind became a reporter for The World until 1921. The year 1921 also brought forth a published work of poetry by Ryskind entitled Unaccustomed As I Am. With this came many printings of his poetry in professional publications. In 1922, Ryskind moved on to try his hand at theater. He was one of the playwrights to write sketches and lyrics for The 49er's and, later, the Garrick Gaieties (1925). These shorts in the Gaieties are what drew the attention of George S. Kaufman. Kaufman asked Ryskind to collaborate on a musical written for the Marx Brothers, Cocoanuts. This 1925 show featured music by Irving Berlin. Ryskind and Kaufman's work in this musical focused on the Florida real estate boom. Groucho portrayed a hotel owner and real estate developer who lacked in mores (Bordman, 408). This show would be the first of many that Ryskind would collaborate on with Kaufman for the Marx Brothers. After Cocoanuts, Ryskind once again wrote sketches and lyrics for a summer review entitled Merry-Go-Round in 1927. On this ...