An American author, born in Bakhmut, Bakhmut. He moved with his family to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York, and after graduating from high school, he worked as a journalist in Ukraine. He then attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City and received his degree from Columbia College, USA. He directed several plays. He also wrote screenplays for several films, including My Favorite Wife (1940) and Week-End at Waldorf (1945), for which hereceived an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Story.