HAL Craig
HAL Craig , actually: Harry Arthur Craig (born October 28, 1921 in County Cork , Ireland , † October 23, 1978 in Rome , Italy ), was an Irish screenwriter , journalist and theater critic .
Life
Harry Craig and his twin brother, Dick, were born to a Protestant pastor in Ireland and raised in the Limerick parish parsonage .
After attending Trinity College in Dublin , he partnered with editor Sean O'Faolain, with whom he worked as an editor for the literary journal The Bell in the 1940s and early 1950s .
In the mid-1950s, Craig moved to London , where he initially wrote texts for radio productions and eventually found a job with the BBC . Here he moderated a television program in which current topics were discussed. In 1958 he was given the honor of working with Queen Elizabeth II on the Queen's Christmas Address, which was broadcast on the BBC.
In parallel with his work as a television presenter, Craig also served as a theater critic for New Statesman magazine and as a journalist for The Manchester Guardian .
On October 14, 1955, he married Peggy Anthony Craig. With her and their three children, he moved to Rome in 1968, where he began a career as a screenwriter.
He paid particular attention to major monumental epics, including the historical film Waterloo, produced in 1970 . Craig also wrote the screenplay for Mohammed - The Messenger of God , which was filmed in 1976. The last film that was made into a film based on a story by him during his lifetime was the 1977 disaster film Airport '77 , which was nominated for two Academy Awards .
Craig soon developed lung cancer from which he died a few days before his 57th birthday.
In 1981, four years after his death, his last screenplay, Lion of the Desert , written shortly before his death, was posthumously made into a film by his longtime friend Moustapha Akkad .
Filmography
- 1968: Battle of Anzio (Lo Sbarco di Anzio)
- 1969: Miss Doctor
- 1970: The Countess and Her Colonel (The Adventures of Gerard)
- 1970: Waterloo (Waterloo)
- 1976: ar-Risâlah
- 1976: Mohammed - The Messenger of God (The Message)
- 1976: Foxtrot
- 1977: Airport '77 - Lost in the Bermuda Triangle (Story)
- 1981: Omar Mukhtar - Lion of the Desert
Web links
- HAL Craig in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Craig, HAL |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Craig, Harry Arthur (full name); Craig, Harry; Craig, Harry AL (other names) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish screenwriter, journalist and theater critic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 28, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | County Cork , Ireland |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 23, 1978 |
| Place of death | Rome , Italy |