John Jay Osborn Jr. Explained

Birth Date:	5 August 1945
Birth Place:	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Education:	Harvard University (BA, JD) Yale University

John Jay Osborn Jr. (August 5, 1945 – October 19, 2022) was an American author, lawyer and legal academic. He is best known for his bestselling novel The Paper Chase published in 1971.

Early life and education

Osborn was born in Boston on August 5, 1945.^[1] His father, John Jay Sr., was a doctor at Stanford University School of Medicine; his mother was Anne (née Kidder). He was a descendant of both John Jay,^{[1] [2]} the first Chief Justice of the United States, and of railroad baron Cornelius Vanderbilt.^[1] His family relocated to the Bay Area when Osborn was nine.^[1] He received a Bachelor of Arts in American History from Harvard University in 1967 and graduated with a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1970.^[3] He also did graduate work at Yale Law School.

The Paper Chase

For his third-year writing project at Harvard Law, Osborn wrote The Paper Chase, a fictional account of one Harvard Law School student's battles with the imperious Professor Charles Kingsfield. Osborn found a publisher with the assistance of William Alfred and the book was released in 1971.^[1] It was made into a film two years later, starring John Houseman and Timothy Bottoms.^[4] Houseman won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as contracts professor Kingsfield.^{[1] [5]} The Paper Chase also became a television series, and Osborn wrote several of the scripts.^[1]

Career

After graduating from law school, Osborn clerked for Judge Max Rosenn of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1970 to 1972.^[6] He was later an associate attorney with the firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler.^[7] Osborn taught law at the University of Miami, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the UC Berkeley School of Law, and the University of San Francisco School of Law, from which he retired in 2018.

Osborn's third novel, The Associates, was adapted into a short-lived television series starring Martin Short and Wilfrid Hyde-White.^[8] He was also one of the writers (along with Thomas A. Cohen) of the screenplay for the 2010 film version of the 1983 novel The River Why by David James Duncan.^[9] His final book, Listen to the Marriage, was published in 2018.^{[1] [10]}

Personal life

Osborn married Emilie Heffron Sisson in 1968.^[1] She was a Radcliffe College graduate who worked as a physician with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and they remained married until his death.^[1] Together, they had three children, Sam, Meredith (who also attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School) and Shef.^[11]

Osborn died on October 19, 2022, at his home in San Francisco. He was 77 years old and suffered from squamous cell cancer prior to his death.^[1]

Publications

Novels

• The Paper Chase (1971)^[1]
• The Only Thing I've Done Wrong (1977)
• The Associates (1979)
• The Man Who Owned New York (1981)
• Listen to the Marriage (2018)^[1]

Scripts

• The Paper Chase (15 of 54 episodes, 1978–1986)^[12]
  • "The Man Who Would Be King" (1978)^[13]
  • "A Day in the Life of..." (1978)^[14]
  • "Moot Court" (1978)^[15]
  • "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1978)^[16]
  • "Scavenger Hunt" (1979)^[17]
  • "Outline Fever" (1983)^{[18] [19]}
  • "Birthday Party" (1983)^{[18] [20]}
  • "Plague of Locusts" (1983)^{[18] [21]}
  • "Snow" (1983)^{[18] [22]}
  • "Mrs. Hart" (1984)^{[18] [23]}
  • "War of the Wonks" (1984)^{[18] [24]}
  • "Billy Pierce" (1984) (teleplay only)^{[18] [25]}
  • "Decisions: Part 1" (1985)^[26]
  • "Decisions: Part 2" (1985)^[26]
  • "Honor" (1986)
• L.A. Law (1 episode, 1986–1994)^[1]
  • "December Bribe" (1987)
• (1 episode, 1985–1988)
  • "Substantial Justice" (1988)^[27]
• The River Why (2010, with Thomas A. Cohen)^[12]

Notes and References

1. News: John Jay Osborn Jr., author of 'The Paper Chase,' dies at age 77. Michael S.. Rosenwald. October 24, 2022. October 24, 2022. The Washington Post.
2. News: Feron. James. Westchester Journal. December 13, 2015. New York Times. October 18, 1981.
3. Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008.
4. Web site: The Paper Chase. Rotten Tomatoes. October 25, 2022.
5. Web site: The 46th Academy Awards – 1974. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. October 25, 2022.
6. 1995. Back Matter. Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature. 7. 1. 116. Cardozo School of Law. October 25, 2022. 10.2307/743350. 743350.
7. News: Business and the Law. D4. Tom. Goldstein. December 8, 1978. October 25, 2022. The New York Times.
8. News: Haberman. Clyde. Krebs. Albin. Notes on People; Street Theater. December 13, 2015. New York Times. subscription . September 14, 1979. B4.
9. Web site: The River Why. Rotten Tomatoes. October 25, 2022.
10. Book: Osborn, John Jay. Listen to the Marriage: A Novel. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. October 23, 2018. 9780374718787.
11. News: Garcia. Ken. Father of the 'Paper Chase' / San Francisco writer helped define Harvard. June 29, 2013. The San Francisco Chronicle. January 28, 2003.
12. Web site: John Jay Osborn Jr.. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
13. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 4. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
14. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 3. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
15. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 9. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
16. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 11. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
17. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 1, Episode 22. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
18. Web site: The Paper Chase Season 2. Radio Times. October 24, 2022.
19. News: Old Friends, New Start. C30. John J.. O'Connor. April 15, 1983. October 24, 2022. The New York Times.
20. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 2. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
21. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 6. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
22. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 7. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
23. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 8. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
24. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 12. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
25. Web site: Paper Chase: Season 2, Episode 19. Rotten Tomatoes. October 24, 2022.
26. Web site: The Paper Chase Season 3. Radio Times. October 24, 2022.
27. Web site: Spenser: For Hire Season 3. Radio Times. October 24, 2022.