for daytime television shows. In 1950, he became a chief speechwriter for the March of Dimes, and from 1955–1968 its chief speechwriter. He continued with free-lance writing throughout his life. His production also covered poetry and song lyrics, including a record called The Babysitters with Alan Arkin and Lee Hays. From 1960–1962, he wrote for The New York Times Magazine, McCall's, and others. He also wrote a book named "Bowleg Bill, The Sea-Going Cowboy" Contacts with KGB The Venona project has revealed that Berger was approached by the KGB after a lead by Samuel Krafsur. In a KGB message to Moscow in 1945, he is described as a progressive and as well disposed toward the Soviet Union. According to Krafsur, Berger had expressed a wish to live in the USSR and maintained contacts with the Communist Party USA. There is no indication, however, that he was actually recruited as an agent. The fact that he quit government work soon afterwards may indicate that the plans to recruit him came to nothing, or even that he wished to avoid involvement in espionage. Death At the age of 67, he died suddenly of an aneurysm on November 11, 1971 in New York City. References FBI Venona Files Marcia and Thomas Mitchell, The Spy Who Seduced America: Lies and Betrayal in the Heat of the Cold War: The Judith Coplon Story, (Invisible Cities Press LLC, 2002) External links Guide to the Josef Berger papers at the University of Oregon 1903 births 1971 deaths American speechwriters University of Missouri alumni Massachusetts Democrats 20th-century American non-fiction writers