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Howard Koch, a "Casablanca" writer, dead at 93

LOS ANGELES: Howard Koch, who shared an Academy Award for the screenplay for "Casablanca" and moved to Europe after he was blacklisted in 1950, died on Thursday.

Koch, 93, died of pneumonia at Kingston Hospital in Kingston, New York, the town where he was raised.

Koch shared an Academy Award for his screenwriting collaboration with Julius and Philip Epstein for "Casablanca" in 1942, and throughout the 1940s wrote or co-wrote some of Hollywood's most memorable films.

In addition to his Oscar for "Casablanca," Koch was nominated for co-writing "Sergeant York" in 1941 and co-wrote best picture winner "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), for which he was not credited.

Additional film credits from the 1940s included "Virginia City," "The Sea Hawk," "Shining Victory," "The Letter," "In This Our Life," "Rhapsody in Blue," "Three Strangers" and "Letter From an Unknown Woman," considered by many to be one of his best and most underrated films. "No Sad Songs for Me," released in 1950, was his last Hollywood picture.

Born in New York City in 1902 and raised in Kingston, Koch attended Bard College for his undergraduate degree and later earned a law degree from Columbia University.

In 1943 Jack and Harry Warner insisted that Koch script "Mission to Moscow," a film designed to reshape Americans' perception of their new ally, the Soviet Union.

Five years later, Jack Warner, testifying before the House Unamerican Activities Committee, used "Mission to Moscow" as evidence of Koch's communist leanings.

Bblacklisted in 1950 and unable to work in Hollywood, Koch and his wife, Anne, left the United States in 1952 to live in France, where he hoped to collaborate with Max Ophuls, director of "Letter From an Unknown Woman," on Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain."

Koch and his wife later moved to Italy and then to Germany.

While living in Europe, Koch used the pseudonym Peter Howard while scripting the British-made "The Intimate Stranger," directed by Joseph Losey, who also was blacklisted.

In 1953 Koch and his wife moved to London, where he began work on an Arthur Rank production. Upon learning that the screenwriter was Koch, the American backers withdrew funding, forcing Rank to terminate the contract.

In 1956 Koch and his wife returned to the U.S.

Returning to a vastly changed Hollywood, Koch was unable to regain the magic that was the hallmark of his earlier screenwriting efforts.

He worked sporadically for the next decade, penning several screenplays for British films including "The War Lover" with Steve McQueen and "The Fox" with Sandy Dennis.

In the late 1970s Koch wrote his autobiography, "As Time Goes By: Memoirs of a Writer in Hollywood, New York and Europe."

Last December, Koch's "Casablanca" Oscar was auctioned for $184,000 at Christie's in New York. Koch said the statue was holding up some books on a shelf, and he decided to put it up for auction to help pay for a granddaughter's graduate school studies.

In addition to his wife of 54 years, he is survived by a daughter, Karyl Trainor; a son; Peter Koch; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.-Reuter