Morrie Ryskind was born in New York City on October 20, 1895, to Abraham and Ida (Etelson) Ryskind. He was educated in the New York public schools and received a bachelor of literature degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism in 1917.
Ryskind's self-proclaimed first literary love was light verse, which he began to submit to journals while he was a college student. He began his journalism career as a cub reporter for the New York World in 1917, a position he left for more lucrative work elsewhere. Four years later he published a book of light verse entitled Unaccustomed As I Am, followed by a second volume, Diary of an Ex-President, in 1932.
In 1925 Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers asked Ryskind to write sketches for Garrick Gaieties, the musical review which made Rodgers and Hart famous. That same year Ryskind collaborated with George S. Kaufman on The Coconuts, a screenplay for the Marx Brothers. The two continued their famous and successful collaboration for many years, with Ryskind later writing the scenarios when the plays were sold to Hollywood. Together Ryskind and Kaufman wrote Animal Crackers (1928), Strike Up the Band (1930, with George and Ira Gershwin), Of Thee I Sing (1932 winner of the Pulitzer Prize; also with the Gershwins), and Let Them Eat Cake (1933). Ryskind and Kaufman moved to Hollywood in 1936 to write the screenplay for A Night at the Opera. Ryskind subsequently wrote several screenplays alone, including My Man Godfrey (1936), Stage Door (1937), Room Service (1938), and Man About Town (1939). In 1940 he returned to New York to write the Broadway show Louisiana Purchase, for which Irving Berlin wrote the music and lyrics. The next year Ryskind was once again in Hollywood, where he wrote the screenplays for Penny Serenade (1941), Claudia (1943), Where Do We Go From Here (1943) and It's in the Bag (1945).
During the 1950's Ryskind turned to political writing and commentary. In 1955 he wrote a review for National Review and in 1960 he wrote a piece for the Los Angeles Times. The latter resulted in Ryskind's writing a daily column for the Times' syndicate until 1965 when a political difference over the content of a column resulted in his resignation. Ryskind then joined the Washington Star syndicate.
In December 1929, Ryskind married Mary House; they became the parents of Ruth and Allan House Ryskind. For many years Ryskind was a director of the Beverly Hills Republican Club and a member of American Journalists Against Communism. He died in August 1985.
