"Tom August" was the pseudonym used by screenwriter Alfred Lewis Levitt after he was blacklisted in the 1950s for his involvement with the Communist Party.

 

Born June 3, 1916, in The Bronx, New York, Levitt married Helen Slote in 1938 and was drafted in 1942.

 

During World War II he served in the First Motion Picture Unit. At the end of the war, Levitt co-wrote the script for the French documentary Reunion about the repatriation of prisoners of war and concentration camp survivors. This led to him becoming a screenwriter in Hollywood.

 

In 1951, Levitt was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although not charged with any crime, he was blacklisted in Hollywood. In order to continue to work, he adopted the assumed name, Tom August.and found work on TV shows such as the Donna Reed Show, The Brady Bunch, That Girl, and All in the Family.

 

In the 1980s, Levitt served on the Writers Guild of America's board and led an effort to restore screen credits to blacklisted writers and supplement their pensions

 

Levitt died on November 16, 2002, of heart failure.