Blankfort, Michael S.

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BLANKFORT, MICHAEL S.

BLANKFORT, MICHAEL S. (1907–1982), novelist, and screenwriter. After publishing The Widow-Makers (1946) and Big Yankee, the Life of Carlson of the Raiders (1947), Blankfort, an ardent Zionist, achieved international success with The Juggler (1952), which deals with a young refugee's adjustment to normal life in the State of Israel. His other works include The Strong Hand (1956), about a young Orthodox rabbi's tragic love affair with a war widow; screenplays, such as his adaptation of Herman Wouk's The Caine Mutiny (1954); and Behold the Fire (1965), a novel based on the exploits of the *Nili conspirators for which he was awarded the S.Y. Agnon Prize.

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"Michael Blankfort, 74," in: New York Times (July 16, 1982), b4.