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Frank Pierson

 
Writer: Frank Pierson
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  • Born: May 12, 1925 in Chappaqua, New York
  • Occupation: Writer, Director
  • Active: '60s-'70s, '90s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Western
  • Career Highlights: Cool Hand Luke, Cat Ballou, King of the Gypsies
  • First Major Screen Credit: Have Gun, Will Travel: Shot by Request (1959)

Biography

Distinguished screenwriter and noted director Frank Pierson earned an Oscar nomination for his debut screenplay, Cat Ballou, in 1965 and a decade later won an Oscar for the screenplay for Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon. In between the two, Pierson wrote the acclaimed script for Cool Hand Luke (1967). Before entering the film industry, the Harvard-educated Pierson was a correspondent for Time magazine. He then became a story editor and during the early '60s produced and directed many episodes of the Have Gun Will Travel television series. In addition, Pierson also wrote the screenplays for several other series. He directed his first feature film, The Looking Glass War, in 1969. Other features he directed include the 1976 version of A Star Is Born and King of the Gypsies (1978). By the '90s, Pierson focused most of his energy writing teleplays and directing television movies, including the well-wrought Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee (1994). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Frank Pierson
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Frank R. Pierson
Born Frank Romer Pierson
May 12, 1925 (1925-05-12) (age 84)
Chappaqua, New York

Frank Romer Pierson[1] (born 12 May 1925) is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter and film director.

Biography

Pierson was born in Chappaqua, New York, the son of Louise (née Randall), a writer, and Harold C. Pierson, an entrepreneur.[1] Pierson attended Harvard. He got his break in Hollywood when he penned a script for the television series Naked City in 1958. He went on to write or co-write several notable films, including Cat Ballou.

He helped write Cool Hand Luke and Dog Day Afternoon, which were both nominated for Academy Awards, the latter of which won Pierson his only Oscar statuette. A Star Is Born, which he directed and which he also contributed to the screenplay.

Pierson has directed several notable films produced for television, including Dirty Pictures, Citizen Cohn, Conspiracy, and Somebody Has To Shoot the Picture. His direction on Truman and Soldier's Girl both garnered Peabody Awards.

He was President of the Writers Guild of America, west from 1981—1983 and again from 1993—1995 and was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) from 2001-2005. He is also currently a member of the teaching staff of Sundance Institute and is Artistic Director of the American Film Institute.

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.filmreference.com/film/93/Frank-Pierson.html

External links

Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by
Robert Rehme		 President of Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences
2001-2005		 Succeeded by
Sid Ganis
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