Bank John Briley (June 25, 1925 â€" December 14, 2019) was an American
writer best known for screenplays of biographical films. He won the
Best Original Screenplay at the 55th Academy Awards for Gandhi (1982).
As well as film scripts, he wrote for television and theatre, and
published several novels.Briley was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and
served in the United States Army Air Forces, 1943â€"46, reaching the
rank of captain. At the University of Michigan, he gained a BA in 1950
and an MA in English 1951. He married Dorothy Louise Reichart in 1950,
and they had four children. He worked in public relations for General
Motors before rejoining the air force in 1955. He was posted to RAF
Northolt airbase at South Ruislip near London, where he was director
of orientation activities and started writing.In 1960, he earned a PhD
in Elizabethan drama from the University of Birmingham, left the air
force and became a staff writer with MGM-British in Borehamwood. While
with the studio, he wrote the script for Children of the Damned
(1964), effectively a sequel of Village of the Damned (1960), but
objected to the changes made for the finished film. He left MGM in
1964. He also had an uncredited part in the comedy Situation
Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965).
writer best known for screenplays of biographical films. He won the
Best Original Screenplay at the 55th Academy Awards for Gandhi (1982).
As well as film scripts, he wrote for television and theatre, and
published several novels.Briley was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and
served in the United States Army Air Forces, 1943â€"46, reaching the
rank of captain. At the University of Michigan, he gained a BA in 1950
and an MA in English 1951. He married Dorothy Louise Reichart in 1950,
and they had four children. He worked in public relations for General
Motors before rejoining the air force in 1955. He was posted to RAF
Northolt airbase at South Ruislip near London, where he was director
of orientation activities and started writing.In 1960, he earned a PhD
in Elizabethan drama from the University of Birmingham, left the air
force and became a staff writer with MGM-British in Borehamwood. While
with the studio, he wrote the script for Children of the Damned
(1964), effectively a sequel of Village of the Damned (1960), but
objected to the changes made for the finished film. He left MGM in
1964. He also had an uncredited part in the comedy Situation
Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965).
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