The Varsity Show: A Columbia Tradition

I.A.L. Diamond

I.A.L. Diamond (CC 1941) holds the distinction of being the only person to have written four consecutive Varsity Shows.  His pithy scripts, written between 1938 and 1941 in the early years of World War II, even included parts for Hitler and Mussolini in 1938's You've Got Something There.

He went on to a successful Hollywood career, becoming Billy Wilder’s screenwriting collaborator on Some Like It Hot, The Apartment (for which he won an Oscar) and other films.

In 2004, the Varsity Show awarded the first Annual I.A.L. Diamond Award, recognizing outstanding Columbia College alumni achievement in the arts to Terrence McNally (CC 1960) who wrote the play Love!Valour!Compassion!

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