Oscar winners for writing

1. Benjamin Glazer

Benjamin Glazer was born on May 7, 1887 in Belfast, Ireland [now Northern Ireland], UK. He was a writer and producer, known for 7th Heaven (1927), Arise, My Love (1940) and Paris Calling (1941). He was married to Sharon Lynn. He died on March 18, 1956 in Hollywood, California, USA.

2. Ben Hecht

Writer | Notorious

Ben Hecht, one of Hollywood's and Broadway's greatest writers, won an Oscar for best original story for Underworld (1927) at the first Academy Awards in 1929 and had a hand in the writing of many classic films. He was nominated five more times for the best writing Oscar, winning (along with writing...

3. Joseph Farnham

Writer | Thunder

Joseph Farnham was born on December 2, 1884 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was a writer and editor, known for Thunder (1929), Where East Is East (1929) and The Trail of '98 (1928). He was married to Rose Alma LeCourt and Emily Ardis. He died on June 2, 1931 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, ...

4. Hanns Kräly

Writer | The Patriot

Hanns Kräly was born on January 16, 1884 in Hamburg, Germany. He was a writer and actor, known for The Patriot (1928), One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) and Broadway Gondolier (1935). He died on November 11, 1950 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

5. Frances Marion

Writer | The Big House

The most renowned female screenwriter of the 20th century, and one of the most respected scripters of any gender, Frances Marion was born in San Francisco. She modeled and acted and had some success as a commercial artist. She entered into journalism and served in Europe as a combat correspondent ...

6. Howard Estabrook

Writer | Cimarron

Detroit-born Howard Estabrook entered show business as a stage actor in New York in 1904. He appeared in several films starting in 1914 and even directed a few in 1917. He left films for a career in the business world, but returned in 1921 in executive positions with various studios, then began ...

7. John Monk Saunders

Writer | The Dawn Patrol

John Monk Saunders was born on November 22, 1895 in Hinckley, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Dawn Patrol (1930), Wings (1927) and Devil Dogs of the Air (1935). He was married to Fay Wray and Avis Bissell (Hughes). He died on March 11, 1940 in Ft. Myers, Florida, USA.

8. Edwin J. Burke

Writer | Bad Girl

Edwin J. Burke, one of first New York playwrights to move to Hollywood after advent of "talkies", was born on 30 August, 1889, at Albany, New York. In 1910, after attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, he began his acting career playing lead roles for a local ...

9. Victor Heerman

Writer | Little Women

Victor Heerman was one of four brothers. His mother was a theatrical costumer. His father abandoned the family, and his mother moved the family to New York from London around the turn of the century to take a job as David Belasco's head costumer. Heerman moved to Los Angeles in 1911 to get into the...

10. Sarah Y. Mason

Writer | Little Women

Sarah Y. Mason was born on March 31, 1896 in Pima, Arizona, USA. Sarah Y. was a writer, known for Little Women (1933), Magnificent Obsession (1954) and The Girl Said No (1930). Sarah Y. was married to Victor Heerman. Sarah Y. died on November 28, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

11. Robert Lord

Producer | In a Lonely Place

Harvard graduate Robert Lord studied English literature and playwriting in George Pierce Baker's renowned Workshop 47. He subsequently put this training into practice as a story writer for the New Yorker. Before long, one of his contributions, The Lucky Horseshoe (1925), attracted the attention of ...

12. Robert Riskin

Writer | It Happened One Night

Robert Riskin was born on March 30, 1897 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for It Happened One Night (1934), You Can't Take It with You (1938) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). He was married to Fay Wray. He died on September 20, 1955 in Beverly Hills, Los ...

13. Arthur Caesar

Writer | Manhattan Melodrama

Arthur Caesar was born on March 9, 1892 in Bucharest, Romania. He was a writer, known for Manhattan Melodrama (1934), Anne of the Indies (1951) and Transient Lady (1935). He was married to Dira (Dora?) Platts. He died on June 20, 1953 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

14. Charles MacArthur

Writer | The Scoundrel

"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers out there are starving!" When Patrick Dennis's fictional Auntie Mame uttered this pithy observation, she could have been speaking of Charles MacArthur. Charlie never shied away from the feast, and he certainly never went hungry. Arriving in November 1895 in...

15. Dudley Nichols

Writer | Sister Kenny

Dudley Nichols was born on April 6, 1895 in Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Sister Kenny (1946), The Informer (1935) and Stagecoach (1939). He was married to Esther "Esta" Varez. He died on January 4, 1960 in Hollywood, California, USA.

16. Pierre Collings

Writer | The Story of Louis Pasteur

Pierre Collings was born on September 22, 1900 in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was a writer and cinematographer, known for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), A Woman of the World (1925) and Good and Naughty (1926). He was married to Natalie H. Collings. He died on December 21, 1937 in North ...

17. Sheridan Gibney

Writer | The Story of Louis Pasteur

Sheridan Gibney was born on June 11, 1903 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) and The Locket (1946). He died on April 12, 1988 in Missoula, Montana, USA.

18. William A. Wellman

Director | A Star Is Born

William Wellman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter-director of the original A Star Is Born (1937), was called "Wild Bill" during his World War I service as an aviator, a nickname that persisted in Hollywood due to his larger-than-life personality and lifestyle.

A leap-year baby born in 1896 on the 29th...

19. Robert Carson

Writer | A Star Is Born

Robert Carson was born on October 6, 1909 in Washington, USA. He was a writer, known for A Star Is Born (1937), A Star Is Born (2018) and A Star Is Born (1954). He was married to Mary Jane Irving. He died on January 19, 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

20. Norman Reilly Raine

Writer | The Adventures of Robin Hood

Norman Reilly Raine was born on June 23, 1894 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer, known for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and We've Never Been Licked (1943). He was married to Elizabeth Prudhomme and Joyce Roberta Pett. He died on July 19, 1971 ...

21. Heinz Herald

Writer | The Life of Emile Zola

Heinz Herald was born on October 24, 1890 in Birnbaum, Germany [now Miedzychód, Wielkopolskie, Poland]. He was a writer and director, known for The Life of Emile Zola (1937), Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) and The Great Flamarion (1945). He died on July 22, 1964 in Kreuth, Bavaria, Germany.

22. Geza Herczeg

Writer | The Life of Emile Zola

Hungarian-American playwright and screenwriter Geza Herczeg was also a newspaper publisher and covered the Balkan Wars and later World War I as a correspondent. In 1926 he was granted an interview with Benito Mussolini in Rome; in 1936 he was invited back, and asked to translate and produce a play ...

23. Dore Schary

Writer | Boys Town

Isadore Schary had a long and checkered history in motion pictures. He was first employed as a screenwriter at then-lowly Columbia after a story editor was struck by the crispness of a writing sample. The editor also happened to think that the writer was a woman, mistaking Dore for Dora. By 1933 ...

24. Eleanore Griffin

Writer | Boys Town

Eleanore Griffin, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who won her Academy Award along with co-writer Dore Schary for Boys Town (1938), was born on April 29, 1904, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Griffin began writing screenplays at Universal in 1937, being credited for the comedies When Love Is Young (1937) (...

25. George Bernard Shaw

Writer | My Fair Lady

The Anglo-Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, acquired a reputation as the greatest dramatist in the English language during the first half of the 20th Century for the plays he had written at the height of his creativity from "Mrs. ...

26. W.P. Lipscomb

Writer | Pygmalion

Oscar-winner W.P. Lipscomb (born William Percy Lipscomb in 1887 in Merton, England) was a British playwright and screenwriter who also produced and directed motion pictures. George Arliss, who played the title role in Cardinal Richelieu (1935), thought his fellow British expatriate in Hollwood was ...

27. Cecil Lewis

Writer | Pygmalion

As well as being an author, director, & one of the founders of the BBC, was one of the last known ace fighter pilots of the first World War. He served in No. 56 Squadron of the RFC/RAF. He is credited with victories over 8 German planes.

28. Ian Dalrymple

Writer | The Citadel

British writer-producer, educated at Rugby and at Trinity College, Cambridge. 'Dal', as he came to be known, began in the industry as a cutter and assistant director under Michael Balcon. He was promoted to supervising editor, in which capacity he worked at Gaumont-British and Gainsborough from the...

29. Lewis R. Foster

Writer | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Lewis R. Foster was born on August 5, 1898 in Brookfield, Missouri, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Captain China (1950) and Tropic Zone (1953). He was married to Dorothy Wilson and Helen Mae. He died on June 10, 1974 in Tehachapi, California, USA.

30. Sidney Howard

Writer | Gone with the Wind

Sidney Howard was born on June 26, 1891 in Oakland, California, USA. He was a writer, known for Gone with the Wind (1939), Dodsworth (1936) and Arrowsmith (1931). He was married to Leopoldine Blaine Damrosch and Clare Eames. He died on August 23, 1939 in Tyringham, Massachusetts, USA.

31. Preston Sturges

Writer | Sullivan's Travels

Preston Sturges' own life is as unlikely as some of the plots of his best work. He was born into a wealthy family. As a boy he helped out on stage productions for his mother's friend, Isadora Duncan (the scarf that strangled her was made by his mother's company, Maison Desti). He served in the U.S....

32. Hans Székely

Writer | Arise, My Love

Hans Székely was born on July 7, 1901 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. He was a writer, known for Arise, My Love (1940), Paris Calling (1941) and Die singende Stadt (1930). He was married to Erzsi Bársony. He died on December 16, 1958 in East Berlin, East Germany.

33. Donald Ogden Stewart

Writer | The Philadelphia Story

Donald Ogden Stewart was born on November 30, 1894 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Philadelphia Story (1940), An Affair to Remember (1957) and Not So Dumb (1930). He was married to Leonore (Ella) Sophie Winter Steffens and Beatrice Ames. He died on August 2, 1980 in...

34. Herman J. Mankiewicz

Writer | Citizen Kane

Herman J. Mankiewicz, now known primarily as the man who co-wrote Citizen Kane (1941) with Hollywood's greatest wunderkind, Orson Welles, was one of the highest-paid screenwriters in Hollywood and the head of Paramount's screen-writing department in the late 1920s and early '30s. He reached the ...

35. Orson Welles

Actor | Citizen Kane

His father, Richard Head Welles, was a well-to-do inventor, his mother, Beatrice (Ives) Welles, a beautiful concert pianist; Orson Welles was gifted in many arts (magic, piano, painting) as a child. When his mother died in 1924 (when he was nine) he traveled the world with his father. He was ...

36. Harry Segall

Writer | Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Harry Segall was born on April 10, 1892 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Monkey Business (1952) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He was married to Dorothy Segall, Martha Salonen and Lenore Mittelman. He died on November 25, 1975 in Woodland Hills, Los ...

37. Sidney Buchman

Writer | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

The son of a Russian émigré clothing merchant, Sidney Buchman was born in Duluth, Minnesota, on March 27 1902. He initially attended the University of Minnesota. After his family moved to New York, he continued his studies at Columbia University, graduating in 1923. The following year, he travelled...

38. Seton I. Miller

Writer | The Adventures of Robin Hood

Seton I. Miller was one of Hollywood's most accomplished writers of action and adventure films in the 1930's and 40's. A graduate of Yale University, he initially entered the film industry with MGM as an actor and 'technical advisor' on Brown of Harvard (1926), a collegiate romance first filmed at ...

39. Emeric Pressburger

Writer | The Red Shoes

Educated at the Universities of Prague and Stuttgart, Emeric Pressburger worked as a journalist in Hungary and Germany and an author and scriptwriter in Berlin and Paris. He was a Hungarian Jew, chased around Europe (he worked on films for UFA in Berlin and Paris) before World War II, finally ...

40. Ring Lardner Jr.

Writer | MASH

The Oscar-winning screenwriter, Ring Lardner, Jr., will always be known for one of two things: that he was the son of one of the greatest humorists American literature has produced, and he was one of the Hollywood 10, the ten film-makers who refused to cooperate with the House Un-American ...

41. Michael Kanin

Writer | Woman of the Year

The older brother of writer/producer/director Garson Kanin, Michael Kanin was a fine talent in his own right. After serving a creative apprenticeship writing and acting in Catskill resort shows with his brother, Kanin worked as a commercial artist and musician. In 1939 he was signed to a ...

42. Arthur Wimperis

Writer | Mrs. Miniver

Arthur Wimperis was born on December 3, 1874 in London, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Mrs. Miniver (1942), Random Harvest (1942) and Knight Without Armor (1937). He died on October 14, 1953 in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK.

43. George Froeschel

Writer | Mrs. Miniver

George Froeschel was born on March 9, 1891 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a writer, known for Mrs. Miniver (1942), Command Decision (1948) and Me and the Colonel (1958). He died on November 22, 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

44. James Hilton

Writer | Mrs. Miniver

British novelist James Hilton was born in Leigh, Lancashire, England, in 1900. His father was a schoolmaster. Hilton graduated from Cambridge University in 1921, having already written his first novel, "Catherine Herself" (written in 1918, it wasn't published until 1920). After graduation he wrote ...

45. Claudine West

Writer | Mrs. Miniver

Claudine West was born on January 16, 1890 in Nottingham, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Mrs. Miniver (1942), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and Random Harvest (1942). She died on April 11, 1943 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.

46. William Saroyan

Writer | The Human Comedy

Oscar winner and Pulitzer Prize recipient William Saroyan, who gained world fame with his classic book "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" (1934), was born in California to Armenak and Takoohi Saroyan.

With his unmistakably American literary works, deeply rooted in his Armenian heritage, ...

47. Norman Krasna

Writer | White Christmas

Humorist, playwright and screenwriter Norman Krasna went to great lengths planning for a career in law. He attended New York University, Columbia University and St. John's University law school but then abruptly changed his plans and started work as a copy boy at a New York newspaper. He had a ...

48. Julius J. Epstein

Writer | Casablanca

Julius J. Epstein was born on August 22, 1909 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Casablanca (1942), Reuben, Reuben (1983) and Pete 'n' Tillie (1972). He was married to Frances Sage and Ann Margot Laszlo. He died on December 30, 2000 in Los Angeles, California, ...

49. Philip G. Epstein

Writer | Casablanca

Philip G. Epstein was born on August 22, 1909 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Casablanca (1942), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and Mr. Skeffington (1944). He was married to Lillian Targan. He died on February 7, 1952 in Hollywood, California, USA.

50. Howard Koch

Writer | Casablanca

Playwright and author of sophisticated screenplays, a graduate of Bard College and Columbia University Law School. Howard Koch started out as a practicing lawyer in Hartsdale, New Jersey, but soon found himself dissatisfied with his career choice and began to write plays on the side. His first two ...

51. Leo McCarey

Director | An Affair to Remember

Leo McCarey was born on October 3, 1896 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a director and writer, known for An Affair to Remember (1957), Going My Way (1944) and Love Affair (1939). He was married to Virginia Stella Martin. He died on July 5, 1969 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

52. Lamar Trotti

Writer | Yellow Sky

Author and screenwriter, often preoccupied with American history as viewed from a Southern perspective. Born in Atlanta, Trotti studied writing at Columbia University and was also the first person to graduate from the University of Georgia's Henry Grady School of Journalism. In 1923, he became the ...

53. Frank Butler

Writer | Going My Way

Frank Butler was born on December 28, 1890 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Going My Way (1944), Wake Island (1942) and Whispering Smith (1948). He was married to Ethel Virginia Chapman. He died on June 10, 1967 in Oceanside, Long Island, New York, USA.

54. Frank Cavett

Writer | Going My Way

Frank Cavett was born on December 27, 1905 in Jackson, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and assistant director, known for Going My Way (1944), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947). He was married to Mary Oakes. He died on March 25, 1973 in Santa Monica, California, ...

55. Charles G. Booth

Writer | The House on 92nd Street

Charles G. Booth was born on February 12, 1896 in Lancashire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The House on 92nd Street (1945), Fury at Furnace Creek (1948) and The Magnificent Fraud (1939). He died on May 22, 1949 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.

56. Richard Schweizer

Writer | The Search

Richard Schweizer was born on December 23, 1899 in Zurich, Switzerland. He was a writer and director, known for The Search (1948), Marie-Louise (1944) and Kleine Scheidegg (1937). He was married to Ruth Margaret Langnese. He died on March 30, 1965 in Zurich, Switzerland.

57. Charles Brackett

Writer | Sunset Blvd.

Charles Brackett, born in Saratoga Springs, New York, of Scottish ancestry, followed in his attorney-father's footsteps and graduated with a law degree from Harvard University in 1920. He practised law for several years, before commencing work as drama critic for The New Yorker (1925-29), in ...

58. Billy Wilder

Writer | The Apartment

Originally planning to become a lawyer, Billy Wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a Viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to Berlin, where he worked for the city's largest tabloid. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many ...

59. Clemence Dane

Writer | Perfect Strangers

British novelist and playwright Clemence Dane was born Winifred Ashton in Kent, England, in 1888. A gifted student, she was educated in a variety of private schools and, at age 16, was hired to teach French in Geneva, Switzerland. A year later she returned to England and studied art for three years...

60. Muriel Box

Writer | The Seventh Veil

Muriel Box was born on September 22, 1905 in New Malden, Surrey [now in Kingston upon Thames, London], England, UK. She was a writer and director, known for The Seventh Veil (1945), Mr. Lord Says No (1952) and A Novel Affair (1957). She was married to Gerald Gardiner and Sydney Box. She died on May...

61. Sydney Box

Producer | The Seventh Veil

Sydney Box was born on April 29, 1907 in Beckenham, Kent, England, UK. He was a producer and writer, known for The Seventh Veil (1945), Holiday Camp (1947) and Forbidden Cargo (1954). He was married to Muriel Box. He died on May 25, 1983 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

62. Robert E. Sherwood

Writer | The Best Years of Our Lives

Robert E. Sherwood, a brilliant multifaceted writer, was born to Arthur Murray and Rosina Emmet Sherwood, educated at the Milton Academy (Massachusetts) and Harvard, and was wounded while serving with the Canadian Black Watch in WWI. His literary career started with jobs as movie critic at Vanity ...

63. Valentine Davies

Writer | Miracle on 34th Street

Valentine Davies was born on August 25, 1905 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Miracle on 34th Street (1947), The Glenn Miller Story (1954) and It Happens Every Spring (1949). He was married to Elizabeth Strauss. He died on July 23, 1961 in Malibu, California,...

64. Sidney Sheldon

Writer | Easter Parade

Sheldon was born in Chicago on February 17, 1917. He began writing as a youngster and at the age of ten he made his first sale of a poem for $10. During the Depression, he worked at a variety of jobs and while attending Northwestern University he contributed short plays to drama groups.

At seventeen...

65. George Seaton

Writer | Miracle on 34th Street

Working his way up from general factotum and gag writer to highly versatile writer/director, George Seaton was involved in many aspects of the entertainment industry along the way.

He was born George Stenius of Swedish parentage (his family hailed from Stockholm) in South Bend, IN, and grew up in ...

66. David Wechsler

Writer | The Search

David Wechsler was born on December 28, 1918 in Zurich, Switzerland. David was a writer, known for The Search (1948), The Village (1953) and Familie M Junior (1953). David died on August 11, 1990 in Zürich, Switzerland.

67. John Huston

Director | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

An eccentric rebel of epic proportions, this Hollywood titan reigned supreme as director, screenwriter and character actor in a career that endured over five decades. The ten-time Oscar-nominated legend was born John Marcellus Huston in Nevada, Missouri, on August 5, 1906. His ancestry was English,...

68. Douglas Morrow

Writer | The Stratton Story

Douglas Morrow was born on September 13, 1913 in Oswego, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Stratton Story (1949), Men of Annapolis (1957) and Target (1958). He died on September 9, 1994 in Kingston, New York, USA.

69. Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer | All About Eve

Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on February 11, 1909, Joseph Leo Mankiewicz first worked for the movies as a translator of intertitles, employed by Paramount in Berlin, the UFA's American distributor at the time (1928). He became a dialoguist, then a screenwriter on numerous Paramount ...

70. Robert Pirosh

Writer | Battleground

Robert Pirosh enjoyed a lengthy Hollywood career, which began when he was signed by MGM, along with fellow newcomer George Seaton , as a contributing writer in 1934. His most notable success was garnering the Academy Award for his screenplay of Battleground (1949), a film based on the Second World ...

71. Edna Anhalt

Writer | Panic in the Streets

Edna Anhalt was an American screenwriter, often working as part of a writing team with her husband Edward Anhalt (1914-2000). Her writing credits span the years 1947 to 1957.

Anhalt's claim to fame is winning the Academy Award for Best Story for the film "Panic in the Streets" (1950) concerning an ...

72. Edward Anhalt

Writer | Jeremiah Johnson

A graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, Edward Anhalt started his career in early television before turning to writing and producing films, often in collaboration with his wife Edna Anhalt. A prolific screenwriter, Anhalt and his wife won an Academy Award for Panic in the Streets (1950). He...

73. D.M. Marshman Jr.

Writer | Sunset Blvd.

D.M. Marshman Jr. was born on December 21, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He was a writer, known for Sunset Blvd. (1950), Taxi (1953) and Second Chance (1953). He was married to Ann Chase Lane. He died on September 17, 2015 in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

74. Paul Dehn

Writer | Murder on the Orient Express

Paul Dehn's show-business career began in 1936 as a movie reviewer for several London newspapers. He later wrote plays, operettas and musicals for the stage. Dehn's first screenplay, for Seven Days to Noon (1950), garnered him an Oscar. He later wrote everything from James Bond films to entries in ...

75. James Bernard

Composer | Dracula

Bernard was born in India, the son of a British army officer, but was moved to England as a small child for his health. He was educated at Wellington College, where the future actor Christopher Lee was a classmate. Fortuitously, because Lee was to star in scores of horror films for Hammer Studios, ...

76. Michael Wilson

Writer | Lawrence of Arabia

Michael Wilson was born on July 1, 1914 in McAlester, Oklahoma, USA. He was a writer, known for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and 5 Fingers (1952). He was married to Zelma Wilson. He died on April 9, 1978 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

77. Harry Brown

Writer | A Place in the Sun

Harry Brown was born on April 30, 1917 in Portland, Maine, USA. He was a writer, known for A Place in the Sun (1951), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) and Ocean's Eleven (1960). He was married to Marguerite Lamkin and June. He died on November 2, 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

78. Alan Jay Lerner

Writer | An American in Paris

Playwright/lyricist Alan Jay Lerner was born into a wealthy New York City retailing family. His professional association with Frederick Loewe started in 1942 when they teamed up to write "Life of the Party". Their first Broadway success was the 1947 musical fantasy "Brigadoon." Lerner adapted work ...

79. Fredric M. Frank

Writer | The Ten Commandments

Fredric M. Frank was born on July 9, 1911 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for The Ten Commandments (1956), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) and El Cid (1961). He died on May 9, 1977 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

80. Theodore St. John

Writer | The Greatest Show on Earth

Theodore St. John was born on September 27, 1906 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Fort Algiers (1953) and The Ford Television Theatre (1952). He died on January 9, 1956 in Northhampton, Massachusetts, USA.

81. Charles Schnee

Writer | Red River

Charles Schnee was born on August 6, 1916 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Red River (1948), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and The Crowded Sky (1960). He was married to Mary Zavian. He died on November 29, 1962 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, ...

82. T.E.B. Clarke

Writer | The Lavender Hill Mob

T.E.B. 'Tibby' Clarke graduated with a law degree from Cambridge University, but decided that writing was more his forte. He started on that career path first as writer for a magazine in Australia, than back in London freelancing as a journalist. He also had jobs on Fleet Street, worked in ...

83. Dalton Trumbo

Writer | Roman Holiday

Dalton Trumbo, the Oscar-winning screenwriter, arguably the most talented, most famous of the blacklisted film professionals known to history as the Hollywood 10, was born in Montrose, Colorado to Orus Trumbo and his wife, the former Maud Tillery.

Dalton Trumbo was raised at 1124 Gunnison Ave. in ...

84. Daniel Taradash

Writer | From Here to Eternity

Daniel Taradash was born on January 29, 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He was a writer and director, known for From Here to Eternity (1953), Picnic (1955) and Storm Center (1956). He was married to Madeleine Forbes. He died on February 22, 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

85. Walter Reisch

Writer | Gaslight

After completing studies in literature at the University of Vienna, Walter Reisch began his screen career as an extra and title writer in 1918. He eventually made the acquaintance of Stephan Lorant, a refuge from the Horty regime in Hungary, who, within a single year, had made a name for himself in...

86. Richard L. Breen

Writer | Titanic

Richard L. Breen was born on June 26, 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Titanic (1953), A Foreign Affair (1948) and State Fair (1962). He died on February 1, 1967 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

87. Philip Yordan

Writer | Detective Story

Philip Yordan was born on April 1, 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Detective Story (1951), Broken Lance (1954) and Dillinger (1945). He was married to Faith Clift and Marilyn Nash. He died on March 24, 2003 in La Jolla, California, USA.

88. Budd Schulberg

Writer | On the Waterfront

Budd Schulberg was born on March 27, 1914 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for On the Waterfront (1954), Everglades! (1961) and A Face in the Crowd (1957). He was married to Betsy Ann Langman, Geraldine Brooks, Agnes Victoria Anderson and Virginia Ray. He died on...

89. Daniel Fuchs

Writer | Love Me or Leave Me

Daniel Fuchs was born on June 25, 1909 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Love Me or Leave Me (1955), Criss Cross (1949) and Between Two Worlds (1944). He died on July 26, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

90. Paddy Chayefsky

Writer | Marty

Author, producer, and composer who earned a Bachelor of Science degree from CCNY, then a Purple Heart during World War II while serving in the US Army. Joining ASCAP in 1955, his chief musical collaborators included George Bassman and Harry Warren. His popular-song compositions include "Marty" and ...

91. William Ludwig

Writer | Interrupted Melody

William Ludwig was born on May 26, 1912 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Interrupted Melody (1955), Oklahoma! (1955) and The Great Caruso (1951). He was married to Susan Riesenfeld. He died on February 7, 1999 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

92. Sonya Levien

Writer | Interrupted Melody

Sonya, a graduate with a law degree from New York University, briefly practiced law before becoming a magazine editor and fiction writer. After several of her stories were adapted to the screen, she became a screenwriter. Levien wrote several screenplays for Will Rogers films and for Fox studios ...

93. James Poe

Writer | Around the World in Eighty Days

James Poe was born on October 4, 1921 in Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Lilies of the Field (1963). He was married to Barbara Steele. He died on January 24, 1980 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

94. John Farrow

Visual_effects | Prometheus

John Farrow is known for Prometheus (2012) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).

95. S.J. Perelman

Writer | Around the World in Eighty Days

Oscar-winning screenwriter S. J. Perelman was one of the great American humorists, a master at short fiction involving word play and satire who influenced countless American humorists, including Woody Allen. He was born Simeon Joseph Perleman (though known as Sidney or Sydney to family and friends)...

96. Albert Lamorisse

Director | Crin blanc: Le cheval sauvage

A former photographer, he turned to directing short subjects in the late 40s, soon acquiring an international reputation for the poetic quality of his short and medium-length films involving the fantasy world of children. Both his White Mane (1953) and The Red Balloon (1956) received a grand prize ...

97. Michael Wilson

Writer | Lawrence of Arabia

Michael Wilson was born on July 1, 1914 in McAlester, Oklahoma, USA. He was a writer, known for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and 5 Fingers (1952). He was married to Zelma Wilson. He died on April 9, 1978 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

98. Carl Foreman

Writer | The Guns of Navarone

Carl Foreman was born on July 23, 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Guns of Navarone (1961), High Noon (1952) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). He was married to Estelle Barr and Evelyn Smith. He died on June 26, 1984 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, ...

99. Pierre Boulle

Writer | The Bridge on the River Kwai

Pierre Boulle was a French novelist best known for two works, The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952) and Planet of the Apes (1963), that were both made into award-winning films.

He was an engineer serving as a secret agent with the Free French in Singapore, when he was captured and subjected to two ...

100. George Wells

Writer | Designing Woman

The son of vaudevillian Billy K. Wells graduated from New York University and began as a writer for radio ('The Jack Pearl Show','Lux Radio Theater'). In 1943, he joined MGM under contract as a screenwriter, rapidly acquiring a reputation for lending a deft touch and inventiveness to light comedies...