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John Jay Osborn Jr.

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John Jay Osborn Jr.
Osborn in 2016
Osborn in 2016
Born(1945-08-05)August 5, 1945
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedOctober 19, 2022(2022-10-19) (aged 77)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • screenwriter
  • attorney
  • law professor
EducationHarvard University (BA, JD)
Yale University
Notable works

John Jay Osborn Jr. (August 5, 1945 – October 19, 2022) was an American author, lawyer and legal academic. He is best known for his bestselling novel The Paper Chase published in 1971.

Early life and education

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Osborn was born in Boston on August 5, 1945.[1] His father, John Jay Sr., was a doctor at Stanford University School of Medicine; his mother was Anne (née Kidder). He was a descendant of both John Jay,[1][2] the first Chief Justice of the United States, and of railroad baron Cornelius Vanderbilt.[1][3] His family relocated to the Bay Area when Osborn was nine.[1] He received a Bachelor of Arts in American History from Harvard University in 1967 and graduated with a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1970.[4] He also did graduate work at Yale Law School.[5]

The Paper Chase

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For his third-year writing project at Harvard Law, Osborn wrote The Paper Chase, a fictional account of one Harvard Law School student's battles with the imperious Professor Charles Kingsfield. Osborn found a publisher with the assistance of William Alfred and the book was released in 1971.[1] It was made into a film two years later, starring John Houseman and Timothy Bottoms.[6] Houseman won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as contracts professor Kingsfield.[1][7] The Paper Chase also became a television series, and Osborn wrote several of the scripts.[1][8]

Career

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After graduating from law school, Osborn clerked for Judge Max Rosenn of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1970 to 1972.[9] He was later an associate attorney with the firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler.[10] Osborn taught law at the University of Miami, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the UC Berkeley School of Law,[5] and the University of San Francisco School of Law, from which he retired in 2018.[3]

Osborn's third novel, The Associates, was adapted into a short-lived television series starring Martin Short and Wilfrid Hyde-White.[5] He was also one of the writers (along with Thomas A. Cohen) of the screenplay for the 2010 film version of the 1983 novel The River Why by David James Duncan.[11] His final book, Listen to the Marriage, was published in 2018.[1][12]

Personal life

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Osborn married Emilie Heffron Sisson in 1968.[1][3] She was a Radcliffe College graduate who worked as a physician with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and they remained married until his death.[1] Together, they had three children, Sam, Meredith (who also attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School) and Shef.[13]

Osborn died on October 19, 2022, at his home in San Francisco. He was 77 years old and suffered from squamous cell cancer prior to his death.[1]

Publications

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Novels

  • The Paper Chase (1971)[1]
  • The Only Thing I've Done Wrong (1977) ISBN 9780395251744
  • The Associates (1979) ISBN 9780395270974
  • The Man Who Owned New York (1981) ISBN 9780395305119
  • Listen to the Marriage (2018)[1]

Scripts

  • The Paper Chase (15 of 54 episodes, 1978–1986)[8]
    • "The Man Who Would Be King" (1978)[14]
    • "A Day in the Life of..." (1978)[15]
    • "Moot Court" (1978)[16]
    • "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1978)[17]
    • "Scavenger Hunt" (1979)[18]
    • "Outline Fever" (1983)[19][20]
    • "Birthday Party" (1983)[19][21]
    • "Plague of Locusts" (1983)[19][22]
    • "Snow" (1983)[19][23]
    • "Mrs. Hart" (1984)[19][24]
    • "War of the Wonks" (1984)[19][25]
    • "Billy Pierce" (1984) (teleplay only)[19][26]
    • "Decisions: Part 1" (1985)[27]
    • "Decisions: Part 2" (1985)[27]
    • "Honor" (1986)
  • L.A. Law (1 episode, 1986–1994)[1]
    • "December Bribe" (1987)
  • Spenser: For Hire (1 episode, 1985–1988)
    • "Substantial Justice" (1988)[28]
  • The River Why (2010, with Thomas A. Cohen)[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rosenwald, Michael S. (October 24, 2022). "John Jay Osborn Jr., author of 'The Paper Chase,' dies at age 77". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  2. ^ Feron, James (October 18, 1981). "Westchester Journal". New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Sipher, Devan (September 5, 2010), "Meredith Osborn, Christiaan Highsmith", The New York Times, pp. ST16, retrieved October 3, 2010
  4. ^ Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Haberman, Clyde; Krebs, Albin (September 14, 1979). "Notes on People; Street Theater". New York Times. p. B4. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  6. ^ "The Paper Chase". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "The 46th Academy Awards – 1974". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "John Jay Osborn Jr". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  9. ^ "Back Matter". Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature. 7 (1). Cardozo School of Law: 116. 1995. doi:10.2307/743350. JSTOR 743350. Retrieved October 25, 2022. (registration required)
  10. ^ Goldstein, Tom (December 8, 1978). "Business and the Law". The New York Times. p. D4. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "The River Why". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  12. ^ Osborn, John Jay (October 23, 2018). Listen to the Marriage: A Novel. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374718787.
  13. ^ Garcia, Ken (January 28, 2003). "Father of the 'Paper Chase' / San Francisco writer helped define Harvard". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  14. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 4". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  15. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 3". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  16. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 9". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  17. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 11". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  18. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 22". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g "The Paper Chase Season 2". Radio Times. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  20. ^ O'Connor, John J. (April 15, 1983). "Old Friends, New Start". The New York Times. p. C30. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  21. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  22. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 6". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  23. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 7". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  24. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 8". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  25. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 12". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  26. ^ "Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 19". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  27. ^ a b "The Paper Chase Season 3". Radio Times. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  28. ^ "Spenser: For Hire Season 3". Radio Times. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
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