Jacob Lawrence "Dr. Jack" Weinstock"New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WHP5-HG6Z : Sat Apr 12 15:16:52 UTC 2025), Entry for Jacob Lawrence Weinstock and Self, 16 Oct 1940. (May 15, 1905 – May 23, 1969) was an American playwright, author, urologist, and surgeon, best known for co-authoring the musical book for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,"Biography of Jack Weinstock" Musical Theatre International. Retrieved 2015-8-9. for which he and his onetime patient and longtime writing partner, Willie Gilbert, received both a Tony Award and New York Drama Critics Award, as well as the Pulitzer Prize.Pressley, Kristin Stultz (2025). Pulitzer Prize-Winning Musicals. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 42. . "What Follows is the rationale presented by Brown (and on behalf of Gassner) which insightfully illuminates the thought processes of both the nominating jury and the voting board: 'The Pulitzer Board has long since, and wisely, recognized in Of Thee I Sing and South Pacific that our musicals can be among the most notable productions of the American theatre. Mr. Gassner and I have always shared this feeling, even though we did not feel that Fiorello!, highly enjoyable as it was, was truly top-flight. We both think that How to Succeed is. And no two people could be less lonely than we are in this opinion. We realize that some may argue that the Pulitzer Prize should not be given with too great frequency to musical comedies. But we hope you will agree that How to Succeed should not be penalized because of the recent selection of Fiorello!.' As alternatives to How to Succeed, the jury suggested Ossie Davis's Purlie Victorious. In a letter of his own, Gassner also suggested Paddy Chayefsky's Gideon, but Brown 'did not think it is more than seventy-five percent successful.' Gessner also recommended Tennessee Williams' Night of the Iguana, which Brown did not acknowledge in his own letter. The Award went to Burrows and Loesser alone. Though the How to Succeed team elected to keep Gilbert and Weinstock's names on the script as acknowledgment of their work prior to the musical, the acknowledgment was offered on the condition that neither of the playwright would attempt to alter or interfere with Burrows and Loesser's adaptaion."

Early life and career Born in New York City on May 15, 1905, Weinstock was one of four children born to Russian immigrant parents Esther and Hyman Weinstock."United States, Census, 1920", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJGR-R3K : Fri Nov 28 04:41:25 UTC 2025), Entry for Hyman Weinstock and Ethel Weinstock, 1920. He attended Morris High School in the Bronx, as well as Columbia College and New York University College of Medicine. It was during his time at Columbia that Weinstock's affinity for comedy writing first surfaced, with occasional contributions to the Columbia Spectator. He discussed this evolution during a 1958 interview with the Lancaster Sunday News. I used to write for the Columbia humor magazine and when I went into medical practice, I did humor writing as a hobby. Many doctors write, play music, or paint as hobbies. It's a form of artistic release for a man in a very precise profession. Then I was doing it just for fun, but now I work on the writing nights and weekends and no longer have time for a hobby as such.LSN TV Week, op. cit., p. 40. Retrieved July 1, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. "'lease for a man in a very precise profession. Then I was doing it just for fun but now work on the writing nights and weekends and no longer have time for a hobby as such.' Asked if comedy writing has hampered his medical practice , he says, "No, it has helped me. You'd be surprised how cooperative a difficult youngster undergoing examination or treatment becomes when I talk about Howdy Doody.'" When asked whether this extensive moonlighting might not have hampered his performance as a physician, Weinstock was quick to point out that his scripting sideline, in particular the Howdy Doody connection, was more a help than a hindrance. "You'd be surprised how cooperative a difficult youngster undergoing examination or treatment becomes when I talk about Howdy Doody. " One year later, Weinstock himself was the surprised party, when, while embarked on a globe-trotting vacation to destinations ranging from Hawaii to Hong Kong, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bangkok, children of Americans abroad proved every bit as devoted a Doody fan base as their stateside contemporaries.

Weinstock and Gilbert also co-authored the play Catch Me If You Can, and wrote the book for the musical Hot Spot.

Personal life and death On December 17, 1933, Weinstock married Dorothy Abrahams."New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24D2-4Q1 : Thu Jul 24 21:16:02 UTC 2025), Entry for Jacob L. Weinstock and Dorothy Abrahams, 17 December 1933. They had two children, both daughters."United States, Census, 1940", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7MC-6LQ : Sat Jul 13 06:22:35 UTC 2024), Entry for Jacob L Weinstock and Dorothy Weinstock, 1940.

On May 23 1969, following a lengthy illness, Weinstock died at his Manhattan home, eight days after his 64th birthday. He was survived by his wife and daughters, his three siblings, and six grandchildren.

Filmography Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949–1955) Tales of Tomorrow Ep. "Past Tense" (1953), story by Robert F. LewineNollen, Scott Allen; Nollen, Yuyun Yuningsih (2021). KARLOFF and the EAST: Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and Oceanian Subjects in His Screen Career. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 389. . "Tales of Tomorrow: 'Past Tense' (April 3, 1953) Credits. Director: Don Medford; Producer: George F. Foley; Assistant producer: James Lister; Teleplay: Wille Gilbert, Jack Weinstock; Story: Robert F. Lewine" Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers (1953) The Bob Smith Show (1954–1955) The Howdy Doody Show (1956–1958) The Funny Manns (1961)

Notes

References

External links

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (1967) at Internet Archive