Peter Viertel
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Peter Viertel (16 November 1920 – 4 November 2007) was an author and screenwriter.


Biography

Viertel was born to Jewish parents in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
, Germany, the writer and actress Salka Viertel and the writer Berthold Viertel. In 1928, his parents moved to
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, where Viertel grew up with his brothers, Hans and Thomas. The home in Santa Monica Canyon was the site of salons and meetings of the Hollywood
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
and the
émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...
community of European intellectuals, particularly at the Sunday night tea parties given by Viertel's mother. However, Viertel identified more with Southern California youth culture than with the European milieu he was exposed to by his family. "The physical aspect of European intellectuals was so totally different from what an American kid wants to be," he told the ''International Herald Tribune'' in 1992. "I knew Bert Brecht was close to being a genius, but he was a funny-looking man to me." Viertel graduated from
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
in 1941. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a private, but after being assigned office work in California (in his memoirs he joked he was a "Remington Raider" in reference to the typewriters they used), he applied for officer training and eventually was accepted by the OSS, the predecessor of the CIA, where his recruiters were impressed that he had already published at 19 the highly acclaimed novel ''The Canyon'' (1940), and had written a screenplay for
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
, '' Saboteur'' (1942), as well as the script for '' The Hard Way'' (1943). His obvious high intelligence, native German language skills, good looks and athleticism were useful in Nazi-controlled Europe. He finished the war as a second lieutenant where he served with the Seventh United States Army in Southern France where he recruited several female agents. Based on his experiences, Viertel wrote the play ''The Survivors'' with his friend Irwin Shaw. It premiered in New York City in 1948, and was turned into an episode for the US Studio One TV series in 1950, and a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television movie in 1957. Some of his war experiences found their way into the screenplay for Anatole Litvak's highly acclaimed movie '' Decision Before Dawn'' (1951). He found it difficult to turn his OSS experiences into a novel and struggled with it for several decades, and a draft was found after his death,"Peter Viertel, 86; Novelist and Noted Screenplay Writer"
by Adam Bernstein, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', November 6, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
but as of 2018 there has been no news of potential publication, nor of the second volume of his autobiography. Viertel was best known for his novel ''White Hunter Black Heart'', which was made into a film starring
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...
in 1990. It is a thinly-disguised account of Viertel's experiences working with film director
John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...
while they were making '' The African Queen''. The central character is scriptwriter Pete Verrill while the Huston character is called John Wilson. Film critic
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
wrote in 1999 that ''White Hunter'' was “still the best Hollywood novel I’ve ever come across — and it isn’t even set in Hollywood.” Viertel's opinion of the finished film was tempered by his idea that Huston himself would have preferred a portrayal with more sarcasm. Viertel's looks and personality were an inspiration for Robert Redford's character Hubbell Gardiner in ''
The Way We Were ''The Way We Were'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Arthur Laurents adapted the screenplay from his own 1972 novel of the same name, which was based on his ...
''. Of his screenwriting work for Hollywood productions, Viertel said that it was primarily a vehicle for income so that he could continue to write novels. Though he worked closely with movie professionals that he liked such as
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...
and Huston, Viertel said there was always creative tension.English translation of La Tribuna obituary November 6, 2007
Viertel is recognized for introducing surfing in Europe. In 1956, while on location in
Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...
for the filming of ''The Sun Also Rises'', Viertel was so impressed by the waves that he sent for his surfboard from California and soon afterwards started Europe's first surf club. Viertel was twice married. His first wife was Virginia Ray "Jigee" Schulberg, the ex-wife of the novelist and screenwriter
Budd Schulberg Budd Schulberg (born Seymour Wilson Schulberg; March 27, 1914 – August 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his novels '' What Makes Sammy Run?'' (1941) and ''The Harder They ...
; she was pregnant with their only child, Christine, when Viertel abandoned her to live with the fashion model Simone Micheline "Bettina" Bodin. Varying sources show that Viertel and Jigee divorced in 1958, 1959, or were still separated but legally married upon her death in January 1960. Bettina left him for
Prince Aly Khan Prince Aly Salomone Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was an Ismaili sayyid, socialite and ambassador for Pakistan. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jocke ...
in 1955, and was pregnant with Khan's child when he died in May 1960. Viertel's second wife was the actress
Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...
, marrying her on 23 July 1960. Viertel was widowed by Kerr on 16 October 2007, just 19 days before he died from
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...
while living in Marbella,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
; he was 12 days shy of his 87th birthday. Through Kerr he had two stepdaughters, Melanie and Francesca Bartley. A filmed documentary by director Michael Scheingraber was in production at the time of Viertel's death. Titled ''Peter Viertel – Between the Lines'', the film is based upon over 400 minutes of recorded interviews with him.


Films

*'' Saboteur'' (1942) *'' The Hard Way'' (1943) *'' The Search'' (Draft – uncredited) (1948) *'' We Were Strangers'' (1949) *'' Roughshod'' (Story) (1949) *''The Survivors ( Studio One TV series episode)'' (Story) (1950) *'' Decision Before Dawn'' (1951) *'' The African Queen'' (Uncredited) (1951) *'' Beat the Devil'' (Screenplay collaboration – uncredited) 1953 *'' The Village'' (1953) *''The Hard Way'' (
Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vi ...
TV series episode) 1957 *''The Survivors (TV movie)'' (with Irwin Shaw) 1957 *''
The Sun Also Rises ''The Sun Also Rises'' is the first novel by the American writer Ernest Hemingway, following his experimental novel-in-fragments '' In Our Time (short story collection)'' (1925). It portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Par ...
'' (1957) *'' The Night Heaven Fell'' (Uncredited) (1958) *'' The Old Man and the Sea'' (1958) *'' Five Miles to Midnight'' (1962) *'' White Hunter Black Heart'' (1990)


Books

*''The Canyon'' (1940) *'' Line of Departure'' (1947) *''White Hunter Black Heart'' (1953) *''Love Lies Bleeding'' (1964) *''Bicycle on the Beach'' (1971) *''American Skin'' (1984) *''Dangerous Friends: At Large with Huston and Hemingway in the Fifties'' (1992) *''Loser Deals'' (1995)


Play

The Survivors, (with Irwin Shaw) New York, Playhouse Theatre, January 1948.


Footnotes


References


"Peter Viertel, 86, Author and Screenwriter, Is Dead", by Douglas Martin
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', November 6, 2007


External links


Obituary
by Ronald Bergan in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 7 November 2007 *
Peter Viertel (fan-site)
Images, letters, bio and other information {{DEFAULTSORT:Viertel, Peter 1920 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American expatriates in Spain American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters 20th-century American memoirists United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American people of German-Jewish descent Dartmouth College alumni Deaths from lymphoma in Spain German emigrants to the United States American surfers People of the Office of Strategic Services United States Marine Corps officers Writers from Santa Monica, California 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from California 20th-century American screenwriters Military personnel from California