Perl briefly attended
Cornell University, but did not graduate. He had written for the television series
The Big Story,
Naked City,
The Doctors and the Nurses,
East Side/West Side and
N.Y.P.D., which he created with
David Susskind. Perl first made a name for himself in the mid-1950s when he published three one-act plays based on works by
Sholem Aleichem, who died in 1916 ("A Tale of Schelm", "Bontche Schweig", and "The High School"), which he published under the title
The World of Sholom Aleichem which dealt with the life of
Russian Jews. This Perl work also features the character
Tevye, the milkman, who was finally memorialized in 1964 with the musical
Fiddler on the Roof. Perl's play premiered at the
Carnegie Hall Playhouse in January 1957 and received good reviews. Perl also co-wrote the screenplay for
Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), actor
Ossie Davis' film directing debut. Perl also wrote the play
Tevye and his Daughters. During the 1950s Perl married Nancy Ann Reals (1933-2018) after the pair met while working on a stage production of Perl’s
Sholem Aleicheim. The Perls spent their time between East Hampton and Manhattan. At the time of Perl's death in 1971, he had been collaborating with James Baldwin on the documentary film
Malcolm X (1972). Nancy took over the project as a producer, working with editor Mick Benderoth. Perl was nominated posthumously for the
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for his work on the film in 1973. Perl's script for the film was later re-written by
Spike Lee for his
1992 film on
Malcolm X. Years later, in 1990, Nancy Ann Reals Perl and Benderoth wed after forming a production company. ==References==