Charles Kaufman (screenwriter)

Charles Kaufman (October 20, 1904 – May 2, 1991) was an American novelist, writer and screenwriter.

Charles A. Kaufman in 1939

Charles Kaufman
Born
Charles Kaufman

(1904-10-20)October 20, 1904
Paterson, New Jersey, United States
DiedMay 2, 1991(1991-05-02) (aged 86)
Los Angeles, California, United States
OccupationScreenwriter

Kaufman was a short story writer for The New Yorker.[1] As a teenager, the books of Joseph Conrad inspired Kaufman to go to sea. At the age of sixteen, he signed on a freighter going to Turk's Island. He later worked as a bellboy on an ocean liner sailing to Bremen. His experiences in World War II (he was a member of a combat camera crew in the Battle of Leyte) led to a career as a screenwriter.[2] His screenplay for the 1958 film The Story of Esther Costello was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay. Along with Wolfgang Reinhart he was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Screenplay in 1962 for the film Freud.

In 2010, Let There Be Light, whose screenplay Kaufman wrote with John Huston, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.".[3][4] This documentary film about the treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) of soldiers returning from WWII has been described as one of the most groundbreaking and acclaimed government films.[5]

Kaufman was the author of three published books: Fiesta in Manhattan (Morrow, 1939),[6] After the Dream (Avon Books, 1977), and a children's book The Frog and the Beanpole (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1980).

Kaufman died of pneumonia in Los Angeles.[7]

Selected works
Charles A. Kaufman in 1970

Novels
  • Fiesta in Manhattan (Morrow, 1939)[8]
  • After the Dream (Avon Books, 1977)
  • The Frog and the Beanpole (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1980)

Screenplays

References
  1. "Charles A. Kaufman; Screenwriter Honored for Freud Biography," Los Angeles Times obituary May 9, 1991, page 32.
  2. Kaufman, Charles; The Frog and the Beanpole (Morrow, 1980)
  3. "'Empire Strikes Back' among 25 film registry picks". Retrieved December 28, 2010..
  4. Barnes, Mike (December 28, 2010). "'Empire Strikes Back,' 'Airplane!' Among 25 Movies Named to National Film Registry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 28, 2010..
  5. https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2013/11/07/the-preservation-and-restoration-of-john-hustons-let-there-be-light/
  6. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/charles-kaufman/fiesta-in-manhattan/
  7. "Charles A. Kaufman; Screenwriter Honored for Freud Biography," Los Angeles Times obituary May 9, 1991, page 32
  8. "Books of the Times" by Charles Poore, New York Times, July 1, 1939
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