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Philip Yordan

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Nationality
  
American

Role
  
Screenwriter

Name
  
Philip Yordan


Years active
  
1946-1994

Occupation
  
screenwriter, actor

Children
  
Phyllis Yordan

Philip Yordan httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumbc

Born
  
April 1, 1914 (
1914-04-01
)
Chicago, Illinois

Alma mater
  
University of Illinois, Chicago-Kent College of Law

Died
  
March 24, 2003, La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States

Spouse
  
Faith Yordan (m. 1964–2003), Marilyn Nash

Education
  
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Chicago-Kent College of Law

Movies
  
Johnny Guitar, King of Kings, El Cid, 55 Days at Peking, Battle of the Bulge

Similar People
  
Samuel Bronston, Ben Maddow, Anthony Mann, Nicholas Ray, Robert Ryan

Philip Yordan (April 1, 1914 – March 24, 2003) was an American screenwriter of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s who also produced several films. He was also known as a highly regarded script doctor. Born to Polish immigrants, he earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois and a law degree at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Contents

Philip Yordan httpsassetsmubicomimagescastmember14986i

Early life

Philip Yordan was born to Polish Jewish immigrants on April 1, 1914 in Chicago, Illinois. From a young age he had taken an interest in writing. As a teenager, he ran a mail-order beauty supply business out of the family basement. Yordan was an avid fan of detective stories; he contemplated a career as a writer. After graduating from high school, he earned a law degree but became dissuaded and pursued writing, eventually becoming a screenwriter.

Films

Some of his films include The Chase (1946), Whistle Stop (1946), House of Strangers (1949), Houdini (1953), Broken Lance (1954), Johnny Guitar (1954), The Big Combo (1955), The Harder They Fall (1956), The Bravados (1958) with Men in War (1957) and God's Little Acre (1958), officially credited to Yordan, but the two films actually were written by Ben Maddow. He worked several times in collaboration with independent producer Samuel Bronston and contributed to the screenplays of such films as King of Kings (1961), El Cid (1961), 55 Days at Peking (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Circus World (1964), and Night Train to Terror (1985).

Awards

  • Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay for Detective Story (1951), and for Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Dillinger (1945).
  • Won an Academy Award for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story for Broken Lance (1954), which was actually a remake, reset in the West, of the earlier House of Strangers, also credited solely to Yordan although written in part by the film's director Joseph L. Mankiewicz who declined to share a co-writing credit.
  • Won a 1952 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay, for Detective Story (along with credited cowriter Robert Wyler, and Sidney Kingsley, the author of the original stage play).
  • Private life

    He was married four times. Upon his death he was survived by his fourth wife, five children, and two grandchildren.

    References

    Philip Yordan Wikipedia