Robert Anderson (writer)

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Robert Woodruff Anderson (born April 28, 1917 in Manhattan , New York City , † February 9, 2009 ibid) was an American writer , playwright and screenwriter , who was influenced by his own war experiences and scripts based on adaptations of novels such as James A. Michener's Land without Men (1957) or Richard McKenna's gunboat on the Yangtze River (1966) became famous.

Life

After attending Phillips Exeter Academy in 1935, Anderson began studying at Harvard University , graduating in 1939 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and finally in 1940 with a Master of Arts (MA). During the Second World War he did his military service in the US Navy and most recently served as a sea ​​lieutenant in the Pacific War . He was awarded the Bronze Star for his military merits and bravery .

After the war he began working as a playwright and wrote a number of plays . He made his debut as a screenwriter in 1948 in the television series The Philco Television Playhouse and in the following years mainly wrote screenplays for television series, before writing a screenplay for the first time in 1957 with the screenplay for Land ohne Mann after the adaptation of the novel by James A. Michener which he could also reflect his own war experiences. Some of his scripts were based on his own stage works.

Anderson, who married actress Teresa Wright in 1959, won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 1960 Academy Awards and a Writers Guild of America Award (WGA Award) for Fred Zinnemann's 1959 screenplay for The Story of a Nun nominated for best drama. For the screenplay for Gunboat on the Yangtze-Kiang (1966), the adaptation of the novel of the same name by Richard McKenna, he was not only nominated for the Golden Globe Award for best screenplay , but again for the WGA Award for best drama.

At the 1971 Academy Awards , he was nominated again for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for No Song for My Father (1970) by Gilbert Cates . At the same time he received another nomination for a WGA Award in the category of best adapted screenplay. For his literary services he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981.

Plays

  • 1938: Hour Town
  • 1945: Come Marching Home
  • 1949: The Eden Rose
  • 1950: Dance Me A Song
  • 1951: Love Revisited
  • 1952: All Summer Long
  • 1953: Tea and Sympathy
  • 1959: Silent Night, Lonely Night
  • 1965: The Days Between
  • 1967: The Footsteps Of Doves
  • 1967: I Never Sang For My Father
  • 1967: I'll Be Home For Christmas
  • 1967: I'm Herbert
  • 1967: The Shock of Recognition
  • 1967: You Know I Can't Hear You When The Water's Running
  • 1971: Solitaire
  • 1971: Double Solitaire
  • 1983: Free And Clear
  • 1991: The Last Act Is A Solo

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • Thomas P. Adler: Robert Anderson (= Twayne's United States Authors Series. Vol. 300). Twayne, Boston MA 1978, ISBN 0-8057-7204-9 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Anderson, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Anderson, Robert Woodruff (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American screenwriter and writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Manhattan , New York City
DATE OF DEATH February 9, 2009
Place of death Manhattan , New York City