Valentine Loewi Davies (August 25, 1905 â€" July 23, 1961) was an
American film and television writer, producer, and director. His film
credits included Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Chicken Every Sunday
(1949), It Happens Every Spring (1949), The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954),
and The Benny Goodman Story (1955). He was nominated for the 1954
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Glenn Miller
Story.Davies was born in New York City, served in the Coast Guard, and
graduated from the University of Michigan where he developed his
writing skill with a column in the Michigan Daily and honed his skills
further as a graduate student at Yale Drama School. He walked away
from his family's successful real estate business in New York and
moved to Hollywood to become a screenwriter. He wrote a number of
Broadway plays and was president of the Screen Writers Guild and
general chairman of the Academy Awards program.He wrote the story for
the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, which was given screen treatment
by the director, George Seaton. Davies also did a novelization of the
story, which was published as a novella by Harcourt Brace & Company in
conjunction with the film release. Miracle on 34th Street earned him
an Academy Award for Best Story.From 1949â€"50, he served as President
of the Screen Writers Guild. He died in 1961 at his home in Malibu,
California when he was fifty-five years old. His secretary at the time
of his death, Marian Saphro, recalled many years later that her boss
died in the midst of a heavy laugh. The Valentine Davies Award was
established in 1962, the year following his death, by the Writers
Guild of America, West, in his honor. It has been awarded annually,
excepting the years 2006, 2010, and 2015.
American film and television writer, producer, and director. His film
credits included Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Chicken Every Sunday
(1949), It Happens Every Spring (1949), The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954),
and The Benny Goodman Story (1955). He was nominated for the 1954
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Glenn Miller
Story.Davies was born in New York City, served in the Coast Guard, and
graduated from the University of Michigan where he developed his
writing skill with a column in the Michigan Daily and honed his skills
further as a graduate student at Yale Drama School. He walked away
from his family's successful real estate business in New York and
moved to Hollywood to become a screenwriter. He wrote a number of
Broadway plays and was president of the Screen Writers Guild and
general chairman of the Academy Awards program.He wrote the story for
the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, which was given screen treatment
by the director, George Seaton. Davies also did a novelization of the
story, which was published as a novella by Harcourt Brace & Company in
conjunction with the film release. Miracle on 34th Street earned him
an Academy Award for Best Story.From 1949â€"50, he served as President
of the Screen Writers Guild. He died in 1961 at his home in Malibu,
California when he was fifty-five years old. His secretary at the time
of his death, Marian Saphro, recalled many years later that her boss
died in the midst of a heavy laugh. The Valentine Davies Award was
established in 1962, the year following his death, by the Writers
Guild of America, West, in his honor. It has been awarded annually,
excepting the years 2006, 2010, and 2015.
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