Samson Raphaelson

Samson Raphaelson
Born	(1894-03-30)March 30, 1894 New York City, U.S.
Died	July 16, 1983(1983-07-16) (aged 89) New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Occupations	Playwright novelist screenwriter reporter
Years active	1925–1965
Spouse	Dorothy Wegman Raphaelson ​ ​ (m. 1927)​
Children	2
Relatives	Bob Rafelson (nephew) Paul Raphaelson (grandson)

Samson Raphaelson (March 30, 1894 – July 16, 1983) was an American playwright, screenwriter and fiction writer.

While working as an advertising executive in New York, he wrote a short story based on the early life of Al Jolson, called The Day of Atonement, which he then converted into a 1925 play, The Jazz Singer. In 1927 this would become the first talking picture, with Jolson as its star. He then worked as a screenwriter with Ernst Lubitsch on sophisticated comedies like Trouble in Paradise, The Shop Around the Corner, and Heaven Can Wait and with Alfred Hitchcock on Suspicion. His short stories appeared in The Saturday Evening Post and other leading magazines, and he taught creative writing at the University of Illinois.