A Letter to Hollywood…

Posted on by Chris The Story Reading Ape

img_9053

A New York copywriter by the name of Robert Pirosh quit his well-paid job and headed for Hollywood in 1934, determined to begin the career of his dreams as a screenwriter.

When he arrived, he gathered the names and addresses of as many directors, producers and studio executives as he could find and sent them what is surely one of the greatest, most effective cover letters ever to be written; a letter which secured him three interviews, one of which led to his job as a junior writer at MGM.

Fifteen years later, Pirosh won an Oscar for best original screenplay for his work on the war film Battleground.

A few months after that, he also won a Golden Globe.

Dear Sir:

I like words. I like fat buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, glutinous, toady. I like solemn, angular, creaky words, such as straitlaced, cantankerous, pecunious, valedictory. I like spurious, black-is-white words, such as mortician, liquidate, tonsorial, demi-monde. I like suave “v” words, such as Svengali, svelte, bravura, verve. I like crunchy, brittle, crackly words, such as splinter, grapple, jostle, crusty. I like sullen, crabbed, scowling words, such as skulk, glower, scabby, churl. I like Oh-Heavens, my-gracious, land’s-sake words, such as tricksy, tucker, genteel, horrid. I like elegant, flowery words, such as estivate, peregrinate, elysium, halcyon. I like wormy, squirmy, mealy words, such as crawl, blubber, squeal, drip. I like sniggly, chuckling words, such as cowlick, gurgle, bubble and burp.

I like the word screenwriter better than copywriter, so I decided to quit my job in a New York advertising agency and try my luck in Hollywood, but before taking the plunge I went to Europe for a year of study, contemplation and horsing around.

I have just returned and I still like words. May I have a few with you?

Robert Pirosh

Source: The Guardian

 

24 thoughts on “A Letter to Hollywood…”

  3. What an awesome letter of introduction . . . I suppose that would be plaigarism if I ‘borrowed’ that to hawk my books to hollyweed producers??? LOL. j/k, I would never actually DO that, but it does give the brain some thought. THANKS for posting this my Ape friend. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. Thanks for posting this gem, Chris, it’s a wonderful read on so many levels! Of course, all of us here love words, so his letter was hugely entertaining (and educational). And it’s easy to see why it was so effective. Gratifying to know it took him where he wanted to go.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

DON'T BE SHY - LEAVE A REPLY

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.