Motion Picture and Television Screenwriter, Playwright, Executive. She was a pioneering scriptwriter whom along with her husband Michael Kanin yielded several popular feature film stories during the 1940s and 1950s, among them "The Opposite Sex" (1956) and "Teacher's Pet" (1958). Individually, she made a name for herself for penning numerous Emmy associated TV-movies. Born Fay Mitchell, her father was a clothing store manager her mother was a former vaudeville actress, she was raised in Elmira, New York. As a child began a lifelong love for films, as she spent hours at the movie theater. Stage was equally an enthrallment for her once she took in her first Broadway play as a teenager. She moved with her family to California for the purpose of her father's new job and attended USC with the intention of finding work at some facet within the entertainment industry. She landed a position as a script reader at RKO Pictures where she met Michael Kanin whom she married. Their first collaboration was the story for the picture "Sunday Punch" (1942) and this was followed with an installment from the "Blondie" series "Blondie for Victory" (1942). Fay established herself as one of the earliest successful female screenwriters. By the end of the decade, she lent her talents to Broadway and was writing stories about women with more of a role in society. Her effort "Goodbye, My Fancy" (1948 to 1949) ran for more than one year on Broadway. Along with Michael, she received an Academy Award nomination for "Teacher's Pet" (1959). She earned Emmy Awards for the television specials "Tell Me Where It Hurts" (1974), "Friendly Fire" (1979) and received nominations with "Hustling" (1975) and "Heartsounds" (1984). From 1979 until 1983, she served as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Motion Picture and Television Screenwriter, Playwright, Executive. She was a pioneering scriptwriter whom along with her husband Michael Kanin yielded several popular feature film stories during the 1940s and 1950s, among them "The Opposite Sex" (1956) and "Teacher's Pet" (1958). Individually, she made a name for herself for penning numerous Emmy associated TV-movies. Born Fay Mitchell, her father was a clothing store manager her mother was a former vaudeville actress, she was raised in Elmira, New York. As a child began a lifelong love for films, as she spent hours at the movie theater. Stage was equally an enthrallment for her once she took in her first Broadway play as a teenager. She moved with her family to California for the purpose of her father's new job and attended USC with the intention of finding work at some facet within the entertainment industry. She landed a position as a script reader at RKO Pictures where she met Michael Kanin whom she married. Their first collaboration was the story for the picture "Sunday Punch" (1942) and this was followed with an installment from the "Blondie" series "Blondie for Victory" (1942). Fay established herself as one of the earliest successful female screenwriters. By the end of the decade, she lent her talents to Broadway and was writing stories about women with more of a role in society. Her effort "Goodbye, My Fancy" (1948 to 1949) ran for more than one year on Broadway. Along with Michael, she received an Academy Award nomination for "Teacher's Pet" (1959). She earned Emmy Awards for the television specials "Tell Me Where It Hurts" (1974), "Friendly Fire" (1979) and received nominations with "Hustling" (1975) and "Heartsounds" (1984). From 1979 until 1983, she served as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Bio by: C.S.
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