Lawrence Edward Watkin

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Lawrence Edward Watkin (born December 9, 1901 in New York City , † December 16, 1981 in San Joaquin County , California ) was an American writer and screenwriter . He is best known as a screenwriter for a number of Walt Disney films from the 1950s.

Life

Lawrence Edward Watkin was initially an English professor at Washington and Lee University in Lexington , Virginia . His first work, On Borrowed Time , published in 1937 (published in German under the titles The Grace Period and The Death in the Apple Tree ) should remain his best-known work. The novel was dramatized by Paul Osborn in 1938 and performed with great success on Broadway . A German stage version, which is still played regularly today, was released under the title "Der Tod im Apfelbaum". A Hollywood film adaptation with Lionel Barrymore and Sir Cedric Hardwicke followed in 1939. Watkins' next novel, Geese in the Forum (1940), was an allegory of university structures - the geese being the faculty.

In 1947 Walt Disney commissioned him to use the leprechaun stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh and Darby O'Gill to create a film script. The project was not realized until 1959 under the title The Secret of the Enchanted Cave . By this time, Watkin had already written numerous other scripts for Disney productions. The first to hit the cinemas was Treasure Island in 1950 , Disney's first pure real -life feature film , for which Watkin adapted the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson . This was followed by three more scripts for UK- made Disney Studios feature films.

For the studio's television shows , Watkin and others developed the hugely successful, but quite banal series The Adventures of Spin and Marty (1955), based on his novel Marty Markham , published in 1942 , which was later to be continued. He was also involved as a producer on the Disney western On A Secret Mission .

Works

Novels

  • On borrowed time. New York and London 1937 (German under the titles The grace period. 1947 and The death in the apple tree. Novel 1954 published).
  • Geese in the forum. New York and London 1940.
  • Thomas Jones and His Nine Lives. New York 1941.
  • Gentleman from England. New York 1941.
  • Marty Markham. New York 1942.
  • Darby O'Gill and the Little People. New York 1959.

Scripts

  • 1947: Keeper of the Bees
  • 1950: Treasure Island ( Treasure Iceland , by Robert Louis Stevenson)
  • 1950: In the valley of the beavers ( Beaver Valley or In Beaver Valley , documentary)
  • 1952: Robin Hood and his daring companions ( The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men or The Story of Robin Hood , also lyrics)
  • 1953: A princess falls in love ( The Sword and the Rose or When Knighthood Was in Flower , after Charles Major )
  • 1954: Rob Roy - The Royal Rebel ( Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue )
  • 1955: The Adventures of Spin and Marty (TV series, based on his novel Marty Markham )
  • 1956: On a Secret Mission ( The Great Locomotive Chase , also producer and lyrics)
  • 1957: The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty (TV series)
  • 1958: The New Adventures of Spin and Marty (TV series)
  • 1958: The Heart of an Indian ( The Light in the Forest , after Conrad Richter )
  • 1959: The Secret of the Haunted Cave ( Darby O'Gill and the Little People , also lyrics, based on Herminie Templeton Kavanagh)
  • 1960: Ten Who Dared (also songs)
  • 1972: The mongrel ( The Biscuit Eater , by James H. Street )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Watkin, Lawrence Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Watkin, Lawrence; Waktin, Lawrence E.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American novelist and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , USA
DATE OF DEATH December 16, 1981
Place of death San Joaquin County , California , USA