Veteran, journeyman, pro, whatever else you can say about a good writer, Joseph Stefano (May 5, 1922 - August 25, 2006) defined the American screenwriter in the second half of the 20th century. He wrote features and television. He wrote horror. He wrote crime. He wrote science fiction. Earlier he even wrote pop songs. But like many of his peers, his greatest work defined his career.
In adapting Robert Bloch's novel "Psycho" for Alfred Hitchcock, we are told that Stefano recommended shifting the focus from the 'Norman Bates/Tony Perkins' character to the 'Marian Crane/Janet Leigh' character. Hitchock adored the macbre idea of knocking off the female star 20 minutes into the movie and cinema history got a new page.
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