Morton Fine (December 24, 1916 – March 7, 1991) was an American screenwriter. A native of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Fine worked in an advertising agency, a bookstore, and an aircraft factory before joining the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in 1942. A graduate of St. John's College in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, Fine returned to school after his military service ended in 1944 and earned a master's degree in English from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

. After an unprofitable stint writing for magazines, he moved to California and turned to writing for radio programs. It was then that he met David Friedkin and began a long writing partnership. Fine wrote several nationally broadcast radio shows in collaboration with

David Friedkin David Friedkin (March 8, 1912 – October 15, 1976) was an American writer and director of radio shows, film, and television shows. Early life and education Friedkin was born on March 8, 1912 in Kansas City, Missouri to Russian Jewish immigran ...

, including ''

Broadway Is My Beat ''Broadway Is My Beat'', a radio crime drama, ran on CBS from February 27, 1949 to August 1, 1954. With Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Detective Danny Clover, the show originated from New York during its first three months on the air. F ...

'' and '' Crime Classics''. The writing duo then moved on to film and television where their credits include '' The Pawnbroker'' (for which he won the

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

for Best Written American Drama in 1965), ''

The Nativity The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man ...

'', ''

The Greek Tycoon ''The Greek Tycoon'' is a 1978 American biographical romantic drama film, of the ''roman à clef'' type, directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by Morton S. Fine is based on a story by Fine, Nico Mastorakis, and Win Wells, who loosely b ...

'', ''

I Spy I spy is a guessing game where one player (the ''spy'' or ''it'') chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players ...

'', ''

The Next Man ''The Next Man'' (also known as ''The Arab Conspiracy'' or ''Double Hit'') is a 1976 American political action thriller film starring Sean Connery, Adolfo Celi, Cornelia Sharpe, and Charles Cioffi. Critical reaction at its opening was not posit ...

'', ''

The Most Deadly Game ''The Most Deadly Game'' is an American television series that ran for 12 episodes from 1970 to 1971. The series was produced by Aaron Spelling Productions, with Aaron Spelling as the executive producer. It stars Yvette Mimieux, Ralph Bellamy, ...

'', and several television Westerns including ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'', ''

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western drama television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour e ...

'', '' Maverick'', '' The Virginian'' and more.

References

External links

* 1916 births 1991 deaths American male screenwriters Writers from Baltimore St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni Writers Guild of America Award winners Screenwriters from Maryland 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screen-writer-stub