-
Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
-
Titus Welliver to Peter Wingfield
Norman Wexler Biography (1926-1999)
Born August 6, 1926, in New Bedford, MA; raised in Detroit, MI; died after aheart attack, August 23, 1999, in Washington, DC; son of Harry and Sophia (Brisson) Wexler; children: Erica, Merin. Career: Writer. Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland, OH, playwright-in-residence, 1970. Also worked in advertising. Member: Writers Guild of America West. Awards, Honors: Academy Award nomination, best writing, story and screenplay based on factual material or material not previously published or produced, 1970, for Joe;National Endowment for the Arts grant, 1970; Cleveland Playhouse Award, c. 1970, for Red's My Color, What's Yours? A Play without Love; Writers Guild of America Award, best drama adapted from another medium, AcademyAward nomination, best writing, screenplay based on material from another medium, and Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination, best motion picture, all with Waldo Salt, all 1973, for Serpico; Image Award, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, c. 1975, for Mandingo; Writers Guildof America Award, best drama, 1978, for Saturday Night Fever; National Science Foundation grant.
- Nationality
- American
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Writer
- Birth Details
- August 6, 1926
- New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
- Death Details
- August 23, 1999
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Famous Works
-
CREDITS
-
Film Work
- Cinematographer (with others), The Kids Are Alright, New World, 1979
- Assistant director, Staying Alive, Paramount, 1983
-
WRITINGS
-
Screenplays
-
Joe, Cannon, 1970 published with an introductory review by JudithCrist, Avon (New York City), 1970
- (With Waldo Salt) Serpico(based on a novel by Peter Maas), Paramount, 1973
-
Mandingo, Paramount, 1975
-
Drum, United Artists, 1976
-
Saturday Night Fever(based on Nik Cohn's story "The Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night"), Paramount, 1977
- (With Sylvester Stallone) Staying Alive, Paramount, 1983
- (With Gary DeVore) Raw Deal(also known as Triple Identity),De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, 1986
-
Plays
-
The Rope(one-act play), Theatre De Lys, New York City, 1965
-
A Week from Today(one-act play), Theatre de Lys, 1965
-
Red's My Color, What's Yours? A Play without Love, Drury Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland, OH, 1970
-
The Huff and the Puff(one-act play), Brooks Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, 1970
-
What Ever Happened to Hugging and Kissing?(one-act play), Brooks Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, 1970
- Author of other works for the stage.
Further Reference
Adaptations:
- H. B. Gilmour adapted Saturday Night Fever as a novel published byBantam (New York City), 1977.
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES
Books:
-
Contemporary Authors, Volume 154, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1997.
Periodicals:
-
Time International, September 6, 1999, p. 18. Variety, August 30, 1999, p. 166.
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: