According to Green Bay Classic Movies Examiner, Kellie Haulotte, film director and screenwriter Frank Pierson, 87, passed away in Los Angeles, California, on Monday, July 23, 2012.
Background
Frank Pierson, Wikipedia states, was born in Chappaqua, New York. Apparently the entertainment business affected him before he even affected it, as his parents, family and their lives were the subject of the 1945 film Roughly Speaking, starring Rosalind Russell and Jack Carson as his parents.
Roughly Speaking’s film plot involves a strong-minded mother keeping her family afloat through World War I and the Great Depression. The movie was based on the autobiography of the same name, published in 1943, by Louise Randall Pierson (Frank’s mother).
Education
Pierson attended Harvard, and he got his break in Hollywood in 1958 as scripted editor for “Have Gun, Will Travel.”
Television Writer
This, then writer, continued to write for television. He wrote such shows as “Naked City,” “Route 66” and others.
Film Screenwriter
Pierson did not stop with television, as he went on to write or co-write several notable films, including Cat Ballou (1965) and Cool Hand Luke (1967) which were both nominated for Academy Awards. He wrote Dog Day Afternoon (1975), which won him an Academy Award. In addition, he also directed and contributed to the screenplay of A Star Is Born (1976).
Director
Pierson directed several notable films produced for television, including Dirty Pictures, Citizen Cohn, Conspiracy, and Somebody Has To Shoot the Picture.
Awards
His direction on Conspiracy won a Directors’ Guild Award for Best Television Movie, and his second Peabody and BAFTA Award.
In 2003, Pierson was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival’s Distinguished Screenwriter Award.
Writers Guild of America
Frank Pierson was also President of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) from 1981-1983 and again from 1993-1995. He, as well, was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) from 2001-2005.
Last Credits
As screenwriter, the last three of Pierson’s most recent works:
Death and Condolences
According to Pierson’s family, he died from natural causes after a short illness. He is survived by his wife, two children
and five grandchildren.
Condolences go out to family, friends and fans.
