Robert Kaplow

Robert Kaplow
Born Robert Kaplow
Occupation Novelist,
Teacher
Nationality American
Alma mater Rutgers
Genre Coming of age novel
Notable works Me and Orson Welles
Website
robertkaplow.com

Robert Kaplow is an American novelist and teacher[1] whose coming-of-age novel was made into a film titled Me and Orson Welles.[2] The story is about "youthful creative ambition" and has received positive reviews from The New York Times which described it as "nimble, likable and smart."[2] Kaplow has written nine books and teaches English language and film studies at Summit High School in New Jersey.[3]

Early years

Kaplow attended Westfield High School in Westfield, where he wrote his first satirical sketches as a student. He graduated from Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey. Robert Kaplow currently teaches English at Summit Senior High School in Summit, NJ.[4]

Me and Orson Welles

Kaplow conceived the idea for the book while being a student at Rutgers University. He saw a photo in the periodical Theatre Arts Monthly from 1937 with Orson Welles with a young man.[5] Kaplow wondered what the young man might have been thinking. He wrote the story, but it took about nine years to find a publisher.[5] It was made into a film by director Richard Linklater which was released in 2009.[2] The Guardian critic Sophie Martelli described the film as a "schmaltzy yet charming coming-of-age story."[6] Me and Orson Welles was a The New York Times bestseller and the film in 2008 starred Zac Efron and Claire Danes. The movie was filmed in the Gaiety Theatre on the Isle of Man. Kaplow's most recent novel is a satire of writers, critics, and publishers. For National Public Radio's Morning Edition, Mr. Kaplow created "Moe Moskowitz and the Punsters," a series of musical and satirical pop-culture parodies.[4] He is currently completing Nobody's Heart: A Novel About Teachers

Books published

References

  1. Martin Tsai/The Star-Ledger (April 17, 2010). "Robert Kaplow on the making of 'Me and Orson Welles'". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2010-01-10. Robert Kaplow teaches 12th grade Advanced Placement English, creative writing and film studies at Summit High School. ...
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 A. O. Scott (2009). "Me and Orson Welles (2009) -- NYT Critics' Pick". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-10. “Me and Orson Welles,” directed by Richard Linklater, with a screenplay (from Robert Kaplow’s novel) ...
  3. D. Z. Stone (November 15, 2009). "A Teacher’s Dream Gets to the Screen". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Goldblatt, Jennifer. "IN PERSON; Trapped In the 30's, On the Radio", The New York Times, January 11, 2004. Accessed January 16, 2008.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Robert Kaplow (December 10, 2003). "'Me and Orson Welles': Photo of Young Boy with Famous Actor Inspires Novel". NPR. Retrieved 2010-01-10. ...I remember 10 years ago ... looking through a copy of Theatre Arts Monthly from 1937, ... Next to him was a young man ... What does this moment feel like from the kid's point of view...
  6. Sophie Martelli (6 December 2009). "Me and Orson Welles by Robert Kaplow". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-01-10. A schmaltzy yet charming coming-of-age story, it is dominated by its portrait of Orson "I am the Mercury Theatre" Welles: the artist and rising star; the charismatic tyrant.

External links