Jack Lewis (screenwriter)
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Lieutenant Colonel Jack Lewis or C. Jack Lewis USMC retired (November 13, 1924 – May 24, 2009), was a former Marine, screenwriter, author of 12 books and an estimated 6,000 magazine articles and short stories, He was the co-founder and editor of ''Gun World'' magazine and continued contributing articles to that publication until the time of his death. Lewis wrote under the name C. Jack Lewis due to four other writers with the name of Jack Lewis.


Biography

Lewis was born in Iowa in 1924. He sold his first short story, "The Cherokee Kid's Last Stand", at the age of 14 for $5.00, which Lewis thought was better money than a field hand's wage, which was then a dollar a day. Buoyed by his success, Lewis submitted an unsolicited ''
Andy Hardy Andrew "Andy" Hardy is a fictional character best known for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer series of 16 films in which he was played by Mickey Rooney. The films were released from 1937 to 1946, except for a final one made in 1958 in an unsuccessful att ...
'' screenplay that was rejected by MGM. He did not sell any more stories until he was 22. Lewis recalled being lost as a child in a Department Store and being found by two Marines in dress blues. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at 18 years of age in World War II and was commissioned a
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in 1945. After the war, Lewis attended the University of Iowa, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism. After obtaining the degree, Lewis reentered the Marine Corps through the Marine Corps Reserve. He worked on a Marine training film, then was assigned as a technical advisor to the film ''
Sands of Iwo Jima ''Sands of Iwo Jima'' is a 1949 war film starring John Wayne that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. The film, which also features John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker, was w ...
'', where Lewis said he advised the cast how to lace up their leggings.http://www.marforres.usmc.mil/MFRNews/ConMar/Fall04.pdf


Screenwriting

Lewis began his screenwriting career in 1950 with several Westerns, including the Lash LaRue feature ''King of the Bullwhip'' for Ron Ormond. With the start of the Korean War, Lewis returned to active duty for six years in the Corps. He served as a combat correspondent and photographer, where he earned the Bronze Star during his second Korean tour, filming Marine aircraft bombing enemy positions. During the Korean War, Lewis had his first experience with the M1 carbine. He fired eight rounds at an enemy soldier before a Marine with a Thompson submachine gun felled the soldier. Lewis discovered that six of his rounds had hit his target with no effect; Lewis began to carry a Thompson. Lewis submitted over two dozen magazine articles to Marine Corps Headquarters about the exploits of the Marines in Korea. Headquarters sent them back, saying that they sounded too much like Marine propaganda; Lewis then sent them to his civilian literary agent who had them published, with a payment for Lewis of $200 each. Lewis sent copies of the published articles to the Headquarters person who had rejected them. After Korea, Captain Lewis served as a company commander in the
4th Marines The 4th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Based at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, it is part of the 3rd Marine Division of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. Mission Close with and destroy the enemy by fi ...
at Camp Pendleton, then was transferred to Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay as a Public Information Officer. During his Hawaiian tour, Lewis was assigned as one of the technical advisors to John Ford's '' Mister Roberts''. When no one could find a
stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
to drive a motorcycle off a pier, Lewis did the job himself. Lewis later appeared in Ford's film ''
Sergeant Rutledge ''Sergeant Rutledge'' is a 1960 American Technicolor Western film directed by John Ford and starring Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Woody Strode and Billie Burke. Six decades later, the film continues to attract attention because it was one o ...
''. In 1960, Lewis wrote the screenplay for Poverty Row filmmaker
Edgar G. Ulmer Edgar Georg Ulmer (; September 17, 1904 – September 30, 1972) was a Jewish- Moravian, Austrian-American film director who mainly worked on Hollywood B movies and other low-budget productions, eventually earning the epithet 'The King of PRC', ...
's ''
The Amazing Transparent Man ''The Amazing Transparent Man'' is a 1960 American science fiction thriller B-movie starring Marguerite Chapman in her final feature film. The plot follows an insane ex–U.S. Army major who uses an escaped criminal to steal materials to improve ...
''. The only science fiction script by Lewis ever filmed, this poorly received American International Pictures release was later lampooned in an episode of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''.


Journalism

Though Lewis's commanding officer offered to get him a regular commission, Lewis wished to become a full-time writer and left the Corps. In addition to his screenplays, film work, and story writing, Lewis became an editor of a magazine and, after three years of observing the process, teamed up with that magazine's
art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
Dean Grennell Dean A. Grennell (November 1, 1923 – April 10, 2004) was an American firearms expert, writer/editor, and active science fiction fan. He was the managing editor of ''Gun World'' magazine and editor of the science fiction fanzine ''Grue''. Bac ...
to publish ''Gun World'' magazine in 1959. Lewis authored the monthly knife column in ''Gun World'' until his death. Lewis's writing on the capabilities of various weapons as well as his photos of "exotic" (military and law enforcement) weapons led several major firearms manufacturers to not advertise in ''Gun World''. Lewis told the then
Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...
Paul X. Kelley Paul Xavier Kelley (November 11, 1928December 29, 2019) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 28th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps from July 1, 1983, to June 30, 1987. Kelley served 37 years active dut ...
that the M16 rifle's effect was that "The United States used to be known as a Nation of Riflemen; now we've become a Nation of Sprayers". Lewis's continued contact with the Marine Corps led him to: * write the screenplay to Marshall Thompson's film ''
A Yank in Viet-Nam ''A Yank in Viet-Nam'' is a 1964 war drama film. It was filmed entirely in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Plot The film follows a U.S. Marine Corps pilot (Marshall Thompson) who is shot down over the Vietnamese jungle. In his endeavor to ...
'' that was filmed on location in South Vietnam in 1963. * have his first novel, ''Tell it to the Marines'', published in 1966. * return to active duty in the Corps in 1969 with III Marine Amphibious Corps in the Vietnam War. Lewis earned his second and third Air Medals during his Vietnam tour. Lewis retired from the Marine Corps Reserve one day before his 60th birthday, November 12, 1984. In addition to nonfiction, Lewis wrote "Charlie Cougar" mysteries and Westerns as well as ''White Horse, Black Hat – A Quarter Century on Hollywood's Poverty Row'', his memoirs of Hollywood. Jack Lewis died on May 24, 2009, after a short bout with cancer.


Quote

"I've been told that I'm not smart enough to realize I can't tilt windmills and win, but tenacity has a life and a way all its own, I've found. If one approach to a problem doesn't work, figure out how to go around it"


References

Lewis, C. Jack ''White Horse, Black Hat: A Quarter Century on Hollywood's Poverty Row'' Scarecrow Press 2002


External links

* Jack Lewis's books *http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books-ca&field-author=Jack%20Lewis *https://web.archive.org/web/20081117235504/http://avalonbooks.com/catalog/series/Lewis_DoubleCross.html
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Jack 1924 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers American crime fiction writers American magazine editors American magazine founders American male novelists American male short story writers American male journalists American male film actors American male screenwriters American stunt performers Gun writers Western (genre) writers United States Marines United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War American war correspondents Recipients of the Air Medal 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters