Leonardo Bercovici; Screenwriter Blacklisted During McCarthy Era

Leonardo Bercovici, 87, veteran screenwriter and educator who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Bercovici, who worked for the film division of the Office of War Information during World War II, testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951. He denied that he was a Communist, but refused to state whether he had ever been involved in the party. He lost his U.S. passport, regaining it in 1956, and moved to Europe for several years. Among Bercovici’s screenplays were “The Bishop’s Wife” in 1947, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven, and “Portrait of Jennie,” in 1949, starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. His other films included “Racket Busters” in 1938, “Chasing Danger” in 1939, “Monsoon” in 1953, and two foreign films that he produced and directed as well as wrote, “Square of Violence” in 1963 and “Story of a Woman” in 1970. Bercovici later became a respected teacher of writing at UCLA and the American Film Institute, work that he continued until shortly before his death. On Wednesday in Los Angeles of kidney failure.