Harry Tugend; Screenwriter Was One of Guild’s Founders

Harry Tugend, whose credits cut a wide and varied swath through the early days of Hollywood and who was one of the founders of the Screen Writers Guild in 1933, died Monday.

The screenwriter, producer and film executive began as a singer in vaudeville and wrote for such divergent stars as Fred Allen, Bing Crosby and Shirley Temple. He was 92 when he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Born in Brooklyn, Tugend began creating sketches for Flo Ziegfeld’s Follies, then joined the fabled Allen writing crew when the radio show went on the air in 1932.

He went with Allen to Hollywood to make a film, “Thanks a Million,” and soon began writing other feature productions, including “Captain January” and “The Littlest Rebel,” for Temple in 1935.

After he and about 100 of his fellow writers formed the Screen Writers Guild, Tugend, a spokeswoman said, signed the note for the guild’s first building.

Tugend’s writing and producing credits include “King of Burlesque,” “Little Miss Broadway,” “Little Old New York,” “Seven Sinners,” “Birth of the Blues,” “Golden Earrings,” “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and many more. His last was “Who’s Minding the Store?” in 1963.

He also wrote the Broadway play “The Wayward Stork” and several television scripts.

Tugend, a widower, is survived by his son, James, and two granddaughters.