Brian Damage
03-16-2009, 11:50 PM
Oscar-nommed screenwriter and novelist Millard Kaufman died of heart failure March 14 in Los Angeles. He was 92.
With animator John Hubley, Kaufman created the Mr. Magoo character for the 1949 short "Ragtime Bear" at UPA Productions.
In 1954, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Screenplay for WWII boot camp drama, "Take the High Ground."
Two years later, he was nominated for another Oscar for the Western "Bad Day at Black Rock." During the McCarthy Era, Kaufman risked his career by lending his name to the screenplay "Gun Crazy," by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.
Kaufman worked in Hollywood for more than a half century, writing screenplays — including "Never So Few" (1959), "The Warlord" (1965), "The Klansman" (1974), and the anti-capital punishment film, "Convicts Four" (1962), which he also directed — and television ("Starsky and Hutch," "Police Story," "Enola Gay").
In 2007, Kaufman’s first novel, "Bowl of Cherries," was published by McSweeney’s.
Kaufman is also the author of "Plots and Characters," a text on screenwriting that was published in 1999. He lectured on screenwriting at the Sundance Institute, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and USC, among others, and was a mentor to many aspiring writers.
His second novel, "Misadventure," will be published by McSweeney’s in fall, 2009.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Lorraine; two daughters, a son and seven grandchildren.
Donations may be made to The Motion Picture and Television Fund.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001305.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
With animator John Hubley, Kaufman created the Mr. Magoo character for the 1949 short "Ragtime Bear" at UPA Productions.
In 1954, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Screenplay for WWII boot camp drama, "Take the High Ground."
Two years later, he was nominated for another Oscar for the Western "Bad Day at Black Rock." During the McCarthy Era, Kaufman risked his career by lending his name to the screenplay "Gun Crazy," by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.
Kaufman worked in Hollywood for more than a half century, writing screenplays — including "Never So Few" (1959), "The Warlord" (1965), "The Klansman" (1974), and the anti-capital punishment film, "Convicts Four" (1962), which he also directed — and television ("Starsky and Hutch," "Police Story," "Enola Gay").
In 2007, Kaufman’s first novel, "Bowl of Cherries," was published by McSweeney’s.
Kaufman is also the author of "Plots and Characters," a text on screenwriting that was published in 1999. He lectured on screenwriting at the Sundance Institute, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and USC, among others, and was a mentor to many aspiring writers.
His second novel, "Misadventure," will be published by McSweeney’s in fall, 2009.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Lorraine; two daughters, a son and seven grandchildren.
Donations may be made to The Motion Picture and Television Fund.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001305.html?categoryid=14&cs=1