Born in Memphis, TN. He decided against going into the family business - a whiskey distillery - and pursued his dream of becoming a writer. He submitted humorous stories to such publications as Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Life magazine and newspapers in New York and St. Louis, and did so well at it that he decided to break into writing for films. Through the assistance of screenwriter Jack Natteford, Ullman secured work writing for two-reel comedies, beginning in 1932 with cartoons for Walter Lantz. He was eventually hired by Columbia Pictures to write for their shorts department in 1936. In that capacity he wrote for such Columbia players as The Three Stooges, Andy Clyde and Charley Chase. He left the shorts department in 1951 to concentrate on writing features, and retired from the business in 1966.
In 1956, Variety dubbed his nomination as "the biggest boo-boo in Academy nomination history." Among the nominees for Best Motion Picture Story was HIGH SOCIETY, although the MGM musical was an adaptation of THE PHILADELPHIA STORY and, thus, wasn't an original story at all. Adding to the confusion was the fact that the nominated writers -- Edward Bernds and Ullman -- weren't the guys who had written the musical, either. Investigation revealed that Bernds and Ullman had written a film called HIGH SOCIETY in 1956 -- only it was a Bowery Boys movie.
At first the Academy maintained that the Writers Branch had intended to nominate the Bowery Boys movie, but then Bernds and Ullman sent a telegram to the Board of Governors stating, "Since our nomination is apparently a case of mistaken identity, we wish to withdraw our names from consideration." 1
1 withdrawn nomination
1 Nominated for Writing (Motion Picture Story) 1956: HIGH SOCIETY (w. Edward Bernds) -- Nomination withdrawn from final ballot.