Charles Kaufman (October 20, 1904 – May 2, 1991) was an American novelist, writer, and screenwriter.

Biography

Kaufman was a short story writer for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. As a teenager, the books of Joseph Conrad inspired Kaufman to go to sea. At the age of sixteen, he signed on a freighter going to Turk's Island. He later worked as a bellboy on an ocean liner sailing to Bremen. His experiences in World War II (he was a member of a combat camera crew in the

Battle of Leyte A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

) led to a career as a screenwriter. His screenplay for the 1958 film ''

The Story of Esther Costello ''The Story of Esther Costello'' is a 1957 British drama film starring Joan Crawford, Rossano Brazzi, and Heather Sears. The film is an exposé of large-scale fundraising. ''The Story of Esther Costello'' was produced by David Miller and Ja ...

'' was nominated for a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

for Best British Screenplay. Along with Wolfgang Reinhart he was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Original Screenplay in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

for the film '' Freud''. In 2010, ''

Let There Be Light "Let there be light" is an English translation of the biblical Hebrew , Hebrew (''yehi 'or'') found in Genesis 1:3 of the Torah, the first part of the Hebrew Bible. In Old Testament translations of the phrase, translations include the Greek l ...

'', whose screenplay Kaufman wrote with John Huston, was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." This documentary film about the treatment for

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

(PTSD) of soldiers returning from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

has been described as one of the most groundbreaking and acclaimed government films. Kaufman was the author of three published books: ''Fiesta in Manhattan'' (Morrow, 1939), ''After the Dream'' (Avon Books, 1977), and the children's book ''The Frog and the Beanpole'' (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1980). Kaufman died of pneumonia in Los Angeles in 1991.

Selected works

Novels

* ''Fiesta in Manhattan'' (Morrow, 1939)"Books of the Times" by Charles Poore, ''New York Times'', July 1, 1939. * ''After the Dream'' (Avon Books, 1977) * ''The Frog and the Beanpole'' (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1980)

Screenplays

* ''

Saturday's Heroes ''Saturday's Heroes'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Edward Killy from a screenplay by Paul Yawitz, Charles Kaufman, and David Silverstein based on George Templeton's story. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, the film ...

'' (1937) * ''

Breakfast for Two ''Breakfast for Two'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film made by RKO Radio Pictures. It was directed by Alfred Santell. The film stars Barbara Stanwyck, Herbert Marshall and Glenda Farrell. Stanwyck and Marshall worked together once more, ...

'' (1937) * '' Maid's Night Out'' (1938) * '' The Saint in New York'' (1938) * ''

Blond Cheat ''Blond Cheat'' is a 1938 romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Joan Fontaine, Derrick De Marney, and Cecil Kellaway. The film was produced by William Sistrom, and originally released by RKO Radio Pictures. The original sto ...

'' (1938) * ''

Exposed Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

'' (1938) * ''

When Tomorrow Comes "When Tomorrow Comes" is a song recorded by British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was written by group members Annie Lennox, David A. Stewart and guest keyboardist Pat Seymour. With this single and its parent album ''Revenge'', Lennox and Stewart ...

'' (1939) * '' Model Wife'' (1941) * '' Paris Calling'' (1942) * ''

'' (1946) * ''

Cynthia Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

'' (1947) * '' Return to Paradise'' (1953) * '' The Racers'' (1955) * ''

'' (1957) * ''South Seas Adventure'' (1958) * '' Bridge to the Sun'' (1961) * '' Freud'' (1962)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufman, Charles 1904 births 1991 deaths Writers from Paterson, New Jersey American male screenwriters Deaths from pneumonia in California Screenwriters from New Jersey 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters