Merle Miller

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Merle Miller (* 17th May 1919 in Montour , Iowa ; † 10. June 1986 in Danbury , Connecticut ) was an American screenwriter and novelist writer . He was best known for his biographies on Presidents Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson as well as for the scripts for the two Hollywood classics of the 1950s The Great Rain and Rivals . He also served as President of the Authors Guild in the United States.

life and career

Merle Dale Miller was born in Montour, Iowa, in 1919. Miller graduated from the University of Iowa and attended the London School of Economics . From 1942 to 1945 he served in the United States Army Air Corps , where he served as editor of Yank, the Army Weekly magazine in the Pacific and Europe.

Miller made a name for himself as the author of almost a dozen books, including novels such as That Winter (1948), A Day in Late September , The Sure Thing and Reunion . In addition, he wrote very successful biographies of the two US Presidents Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1970s and 1980s.

In the 1950s, Miller also turned to writing screenplays for film and television. In 1955 Miller wrote the script for the romantic adventure film The Great Rain by director Jean Negulesco, which starred Lana Turner , Richard Burton , Fred MacMurray and Joan Caulfield . The film was produced by Twentieth Century Fox based on the novel The rains came by Louis Bromfield . For the filmmaker Delmer Daves he wrote the screenplay for the film production Rivals with Frank Sinatra and Tony Curtis in 1958 .

Merle Miller died in Danbury Hospital, Connecticut , in June 1986 at the age of 67 from complications from an abdominal infection with peritonitis .

Bibliography (selection)

Novels

  • 1945: Iceland 49
  • 1948: That Winter
  • 1950: The Sure Thing
  • 1954: Reunion
  • 1956: A Day in Late September
  • 1956: A Secret Understanding
  • 1961: A Gay and Melancholy Sound
  • 1972: What Happened

Biographies

  • 1974: Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman
  • 1980: Lyndon an oral biography
  • 1985: Ike the Soldier - As They Knew Him

Filmography

As a screenwriter

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary for Merle Miller in: The New York Times
personal data
SURNAME Miller, Merle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Miller, Merle Dale (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH May 17, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Montour , Iowa
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 1986
Place of death Danbury , Connecticut , USA