Morton Bernard Wishengrad"ABC Plans Documentary on U.S. Communism". The Register-Guard. July 18, 1948. p. 8B. "Morton Wishengrad, well known radio writer and author of many of the broadcasts in the series, 'The Eternal Light,' [was] formerly an educational director of the Dressmakers Union, Local 22,""Aid for Unemployed". New York Daily News. December 18, 1939. p. 38. "Distribution of $25,000 to needy unemployed dressmakers has started, it was announced yesterday by Morton B. Wishengrad, educational director of the Dressmakers' Union.""New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WHGH-ND6Z : Sat Apr 12 17:18:14 UTC 2025), Entry for Morton Bernard Wishengrad and Dressmakers Union, 16 Oct 1940. (December 2, 1913 – February 12, 1963) was an American radio and TV script writer, screenwriter, and playwright,"Obituary: Mort Wishengrad, Noted Playwright, Is Dead at 49". The Paterson Evening News. February 15, 1963. p. 31. best known for his extended tenure as the principal writer on the religious radio series, The Eternal Light.Eisenberg, Azriel (1964). The Golden Land : A Literary Portrait of American Jewry, 1654 to the Present. New York : T. Yoseloff. p. 219. ."Discuss 5th Year On the Air". The Southern Jewish Weekly. September 24, 1948. p. 7 "Moshe Davis, dean of the Seminary's Teachers Institute and program editor of the Eternal Light, with Morton Wishengrad, featured writer of the program, discuss the broadcast which will mark the inauguration of the Eternal Light's fifth year on the air on September 26th, [namely] Wishengrad's dramatization of 'The Man Who Hated God' (NBC network, 12;30–1:00 PM DST)."
Early life and career Born on December 2, 1913,"Scriptwriter Morton Wishengrad Dies". The Southern Israelite. February 22, 1963. p. 5. "Morton Wishengrad, noted script writer and dramatist, died of a heart attack on February 12. Mr. Wishengrad, born in New York City in December, 1913, was in his fiftieth year. A graduate of Brooklyn College, Mr. Wishengrad started his career In 1942 as AFL Director of the joint AF-CIO Labor Shortwave Bureau. He filled in a script for the NBC show of that period, 'Labor for Victory,' and thus began his professional writing career.""Morton Wishengrad". Audio-Visual Guide. Vol. 11. 1944. p. 49. "He was born December 2, 1913 in New York City's lower east side. When Morton was nine, his mother died; when he was sixteen, his father died. Supported by his sister, he attended Boys High School in Brooklyn" in New York's Lower East Side, Wishengrad was the first-born—and only son—of three children born to Russian-Jewish immigrants,Sterling, Christopher H.; O'Dell, Gary (2011). The Biographical Encyclopedia of American Radio. New York: Routledge. p. 293. . Pauline (née Adelson) and Morris Wishengrad."Brooklyn Wills Filed for Probate". The Brooklyn Citizen. April 3, 1930. p. 6. "WISHENGRAD. MORRIS, died Feb. #1. 1930; personal, $6,500; executrix, Theresa M. King. 713 Crown street, Brooklyn, daughter; Morton B. Wishengrad, son, and Adeline R. Wishengrad. daughter.""New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:244K-J1C : Wed Mar 26 02:34:00 UTC 2025), Entry for Morris Wishengrad and Paiya Honig, 25 March 1913. At some point, the family relocated to Brooklyn, where their son attended McKelway Junior High School,"McKelway Jr. High Holds Graduation". Brooklyn Eagle. June 28, 1927. p. 16. Boys High School,"Chat of the Schools: Boys High School". The Chat. May 31, 1929. p. 5. "'La Voz,' a Spanish publication, has again made its appearance, the first number being dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Torres and to celebrate the Spanish Exposition at Barcelona and Seville. [...] Ivan Kempner is the editor-in-chief, with Morton B. Wishengrad as his assistant." and Brooklyn College.
Radio Wishengrad began his radio career in 1943 with NBC's Labor for Victory, followed by 47 episodes of Lands of the Free, a series produced by NBC's Inter-American University of The Air."Wishengrad to Speak". The Daily Times. February 14, 1958. p. 1. One of those scripts, The Last Inca, portrays the sixteenth-century Peruvian Inca insurrectionist Tupac Amaru II (as played by Raymond Edward Johnson) and was later included in Joseph Liss's 1947 collection, Radio's Best Plays.Liss, Joseph, editor (1947). Radio's Best Plays. New York: Greenberg. pp.219, 222. . "Here is a play of purpose out of yesterday's history that tells us that yesterday's tyrants are the blood-and-money brothers of today's tyrants. If this drama were a mirror in Hell, Hitler and his cronies would see that their murderous deeds were not original. [...] The Last Inca was produced by NBC's University of the Air on a hot July Sunday afternoon in 1943 [...] Those who tuned in heard the distinguished actor Raymond Edward Johnson give one of the greatest performances ever heard on radio. [...] TUPAC. Tupac Amaru ... remember my name. [...] Tupac Amaru was the name of my death ... but the name of my birth was Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui.""Peruvian Is Guest Speaker". The Shreveport Times. July 11, 1943. p. 14. Retrieved September 29, 2025. "Carlos MacKehenie y de la Fuente, first secretary of the Peruvian embassy in Washington, will be the speaker on 'Lands of Free' [...] after the conclusion of the dramatic portion of the program, which will pre devoted to 'The Last Inca.' [...] Morton Wishengrad is scripter." Another, "War of the Warsaw Ghetto" ( "Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto"), was given a citation by the Writers' War Board as the best war script of 1943."Well-Known Author To Lecture Tuesday At Temple Emanuel". Paterson Evening News. December 5, 1956. p. 45."Jewish Community Council Calendar". Paterson Evening News. December 3, 1943. p. 10. "'The Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto,' which was so well received when it was broadcast on Oct. 3 under the auspices of the American Jewish Committee, will be repeated, Sunday, Dec. 12, 1943, over the N. B. C. network, 12 noon to 12:30 p.m. Eastern War Time. Raymond Massey will be the narrator of the script, which was written by Morton Wishengrad." The following year, Wishengrad earned his first of many credits on The Eternal Light, launching an association extending well into the television era, eventually comprising more than 150 episodes scripted. He also wrote numerous episodes of Cavalcade of America.Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 141. .
Additional instances of Wishengrad radio scripts later picked for "Best Play" anthologies include "To the American People" (July 5, 1945 episode of The Halls of Congress, with Paul Muni, Morris Carnovsky, and Ruth Nelson; scored by David Raksin),Mayorga, Margaret (1946). The Best One-Act Plays of 1945. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. pp. 96–97. . "How They Knocked the Devil Out of Uncle Ezra" (November 24, 1946 episode of The Eternal Light),Mayorga, Margaret (1948). The Best One Act Plays of 1947–1948 New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. p. 278. . and The Camel and I (stand-alone Passover-themed drama, airing April 12, 1949, and starring Sam Levene; a joint MBS/AJC presentation).Mayorga, Margaret (1950). The Best One Act Plays 1949-1950. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. p. 38. .
In September 1946, on the final four Fridays of the month, NBC presented a mini-"Wishengrad Festival", comprising repeat viewings of some of the writer's most popular Eternal Light offerings."Parable of Reb Yisroel on the Air, Sunday". The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. September 29, 1946. p. 6. " Sam Levene [...] will play the leading role in 'The Parable of Reb Yisroel,' an original radio drama by Morton Wishengrad to be presented Eternal Light program on Sunday, September 29 (NBC network, 11:30 p.m., EST). This will be fourth script in the current 'Wishengrad Festival' series, repeat broadcasts of the most popular radio plays written by Mr. Wishengrad for the program. 'The Parable of Reb Yisroel' concerns a man so good on that he was able to influence Heaven." These were, in order of appearance, "Thomas Kennedy"Gross, Ben (September 9, 1946 ). "Listening In". New York Daily News. p. 36. "Few who heard 'The Eternal Light' rebroadcast yesterday of Morton Wishengrad's 'Thomas Kennedy' (WEAF-Noon) could quarrel with its selection as the outstanding network religious program by the Institute for Education by Radio at Ohio State University. Wishengrad's dramatization of Kennedy's fight in 1825 against the statute requiring delegates in the Maryland legislature to take oath on their faith as 'Christians' carried great dramatic impact." (original air date November 25, 1945; dramatizing the title character's historic—and ultimately successful—fight to remove the discriminatory "Declaration of belief" requirement from Maryland's state constitution),Juengst, William (November 23, 1945). "Radio". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 25. "the 'Eternal Light' show, which the Jewish Theological Seminary stages each Sunday on WEAF, will be devoted to Gentile Thomas Kennedy (who fought a battle for tolerance in Maryland in the early days of our republic)." "Lillian Wald""On the Air–Sunday, September 15, 1946: Today's Radio Highlights". The Gazette and Daily. September 15, 1946. p. 15. "12:00 noon WEAF-The Eternal Light-"Lillian Wald," drama starring Jane Cowl." (originally Nov. 4, 1945; recounts career of title character, founder of New York's Henry Street Settlement),Anderson, Stanley (November 3, 1945). "Radio: Tomorrow". The Cleveland Press. p. 16. "Lillian Wald's Life, WTAM at 11: The career of New York's Henry Street Settlement founder is dramatised on Eternal Light.'" "Chronicle of the Dead" ("story of Polish prisoners of the Germans")"On the Air–Sunday, September 22, 1946: Today's Radio Highlights". The Gazette and Daily. September 22, 1946. p. 17. "12:00 noon—WEAF–The Eternal Light–'Chronicle of the Dead,' story of Polish prisoners of the Germans." and "The Parable of Reb Yiszroel"(concerning "a man so good on earth that he was able to influence Heaven").
During the fall of 1949, Wishengrad's work was prominently featured in a weekly series of thirteen Eternal Light rebroadcasts (including seven penned by him—namely, 'How Uriel Got Into Heaven', 'The Thief and the Hangman', 'Moses Mendelssohn', 'Brandeis', 'How They Knocked The Devil Out of Uncle Ezra', 'Ghandi', and 'Emma Lazarus'), commemorating the fifth anniversary of the series' inception in October 1944."New Series of Jewish Broadcasts Will Begin This Sunday". The Southern Jewish Weekly. October 21, 1949. p. 5. " It consists of 13 scripts, chosen for having evoked the greatest popular acclaim of the 241 Eternal Light presentations offered since the program's inception in October of 1944 [...] Scheduled to launch the series on Sunday, October 23, will be, 'How Uriel Got Into Heaven', Morton Wishengrad's story of a simple water carrier, whose right to a Heavenly reward is cleverly pleaded by the angel Michael."
Stage and screen In 1950, the writer-star pairing of Wishengrad and Sam Levene—as heard the year before, in The Camel and I, and, before that, in "The Parable of Reb Yiszroel" (1946)—resumed to great effect in his screenwriting debut, the Oscar-nominated "Best Documentary Feature" With These Hands, which benefited greatly from Levene's strong lead performance.Hale, Wanda (June 16, 1950). "'With These Hands' a Good Industry Film". New York Daily News. p. 75. "The picture has been beautifully cast. In leading roles are Sam Levene, Arlene Francis and Joseph Wiseman. As Brody, Levene uses to the best advantage his expressive face, hands, shoulders and voice, but never once does he overdo a scene."