Sy Gomberg

Sy Gomberg (August 19, 1918 – February 11, 2001) was an American Oscar-nominated film screenwriter, producer, and activist, who taught screenwriting to University of Southern California students for over a decades.

Gomberg was born in New York City, and grew up in Newark, New Jersey. He spent World War II in the First Motion Picture Unit in Hollywood. After the war, he was a contributor to Collier's Weekly and the Saturday Evening Post. In 1951, he received an Academy Award nomination for When Willie Comes Marching Home – which was based on a story Gomberg originally wrote for Collier's. He was also nominated the same year for Best Screenplay for Summer Stock. He also created, produced and wrote the 1960s ABC legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones starring James Whitmore.

A supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Gomberg organized members of the film industry to march with Martin Luther King Jr., in Alabama.In 1957 Gomberg married actress Maxine Cooper. They remained together until his death at age 82 in Brentwood, California. His wife had one son from her previous marriage; they had two daughters together.