Nationality American Role Screenwriter Name Philip Yordan | Years active 1946-1994 Occupation screenwriter, actor Children Phyllis Yordan | |
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Movies Johnny Guitar, King of Kings, El Cid, 55 Days at Peking, Battle of the Bulge Similar People | ||
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.
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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
Private life
He was married four times. Upon his death he was survived by his fourth wife, five children, and two grandchildren.