Lawrence Edward Watkin (December 9, 1901 – December 16, 1981) was an American writer and film producer. He was known primarily as a scriptwriter for a series of 1950s

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

films.

Life

Watkin was born in

Camden (town), New York Camden is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 4,934 at the 2010 census. The town of Camden contains a village also called Camden. The town is in the northwestern part of Oneida County and is northwest of the Ci ...

in 1901. He died in 1981, a few days after his 80th birthday, in

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County (; Spanish: ''San Joaquín'', meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton. San ...

, California.

Writer

Watkin was an English professor at

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

in Lexington, Virginia. His first novel, ''On Borrowed Time'', published in 1937, remains his best known work. It won the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

as Bookseller Discovery of 1937, voted by members of the American Booksellers Association.
"Booksellers Give Prize to 'Citadel': Cronin's Work About Doctors Their Favorite--'Mme. Curie' Gets Non-Fiction Award ...", ''The New York Times'', March 2, 1938, page 14. ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2007). It was dramatized in 1938 by

Paul Osborn Paul Osborn (September 4, 1901 – May 12, 1988) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Osborn's original plays are '' The Vinegar Tree'', ''Oliver Oliver'', and ''Morning's at Seven'' and among his several successful adaptations, ''On Bo ...

for a successful run on Broadway. A Hollywood film version with Lionel Barrymore and Sir

Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...

followed in 1939. His next novel, ''Geese in the Forum'' (1940), was an allegory about university structures. In 1947

hired Watkin to adapt the stories of

Herminie Templeton Kavanagh Herminie Templeton Kavanagh (1861 – 30 October 1933) was an Irish writer, most known for her short stories. She was born Herminie McGibney, the daughter of Major George McGibney, of Longford, Ireland. She became Herminie Templeton after her ...

featuring Darby O'Gill. The project was finally realized in 1959 as ''

Darby O'Gill and the Little People ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the ''Darby O'Gill'' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence ...

''. By that time, Watkin had written numerous other screenplays for Disney. The first of his Disney screenplays was ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (1950), adapted from the

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

novel. Three screenplays followed (''Beaver Valley'', ''The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men'', and ''The Sword and the Rose''), which were produced by Disney in Great Britain. The popular Disney television serials ''

Spin and Marty ''Spin and Marty'' is a series of television shorts that aired as part of ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' show of the mid-1950s, produced by Walt Disney and broadcast on the ABC network in the United States. There were three serials in all, set at the ...

'' (1955–1957) were adapted by

Jackson Gillis Jackson Clark Gillis (August 21, 1916 – August 19, 2010) was an American radio and television scriptwriter whose career spanned more than 40 years and encompassed a wide range of genres. Gillis was born in Kalama, Washington to a highway en ...

from Watkin's 1942 book ''Marty Markham''. Watkin was producer of Disney's 1956 Adventure film, ''

The Great Locomotive Chase ''The Great Locomotive Chase'' is a 1956 American adventure western film produced by Walt Disney Productions, based on the Great Locomotive Chase that occurred in 1862 during the American Civil War. Filmed in CinemaScope and in color, the fil ...

''. In the late 1960s Watkin was hired by the Disney Studio to do a biography of

after the first effort by Richard G. Hubler was judged unsatisfactory. Watkin's effort was also deemed unsuitable; he told friends the biography was "ill-fated" because it was "too truthful". Disney historian Wade Sampson, after reading the unpublished manuscript, dubbed it "achingly boring, with only occasional insights into the life and genius of Walt Disney and merely listing the Disney productions rather than the stories behind those productions."Jack Cutting Speaks
/ref>

Works

Novels

* ''

On Borrowed Time ''On Borrowed Time'' is a 1939 film about the role death plays in life, and how humanity cannot live without it. It is adapted from Paul Osborn's 1938 Broadway hit play. The play, based on a novel by Lawrence Edward Watkin, has been revived twi ...

'', New York and London 1937 * ''Geese in the Forum'', New York and London 1940 * ''Thomas Jones and His Nine Lives'', New York 1941 * ''Gentleman from England'', New York 1941 * ''Marty Markham'', New York 1942 . The novel can be viewed at https://archive.org/details/waltdisneysspinm00watk * ''Darby O’Gill and the Little People'', New York 1959

Screenplays

* '' Keeper of the Bees'' (1947) * ''Treasure Island'' (1950) – Originally by

*''Beaver Valley''; aka ''

In Beaver Valley ''In Beaver Valley'' is a 1950 American short documentary film directed by James Algar. The film was produced by Walt Disney as part of the '' True-Life Adventures'' series of nature documentaries. It won an Oscar in 1951 for Best Short Subjec ...

'' (1950) - documentary short * ''

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men ''The Story of Robin Hood'' is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO- Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawrence Edward Watkin and ...

'', aka ''The Story of Robin Hood'' (1952) * ''

The Sword and the Rose ''The Sword and the Rose'' is a family/adventure film produced by Perce Pearce and Walt Disney and directed by Ken Annakin. The film features the story of Mary Tudor, a younger sister of Henry VIII of England. Based on the 1898 novel '' When Kn ...

''; aka ''When Knighthood Was in Flower'' (1953) – based on the novel by Charles Major *''

Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue ''Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue'' is a 1953 adventure film produced by RKO-Walt Disney British Productions which is about Rob Roy MacGregor. It was the last Disney film released through RKO Radio Pictures. Plot The film begins in the early 18th ...

'' (1953 *''

'' (1956) - Producer and Writer *''

The Light in the Forest ''The Light in the Forest'' is a novel first published in 1953 by U.S. author Conrad Richter. Though it is a work of fiction and primarily features fictional characters, the novel incorporates historic figures and is based in historical fact rel ...

'' (1958) – Originally by Conrad Richter * ''

'' (1959) – Originally by

* '' Ten Who Dared'' (1960) *''

National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. Plot summary ''National Velvet'' is the story of a 14-year-old girl named ...

'' - "The Desperado" (1961) *'' The Robert Taylor Show'' (1963) *'' The Virginian'' - "Portrait of a Widow" (1964) * '' The Biscuit Eater'' (1972)

References

External links

*
"Cinchset" background history on Lawrence Edward Watkin's writing of the Marty Markham story

Lawrence Edward Watkin
at

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 ...

Authorities — with 9 catalog records {{DEFAULTSORT:Watkin, Lawrence Edward 1901 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters National Book Award winners Novelists from New York (state) Writers from New York City Washington and Lee University faculty Novelists from Virginia Screenwriters from Virginia Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters