Loring Mandel (May 5, 1928 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright and screenwriter whose notable works include the TV movie ''

Conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

''. He wrote for radio, television, film and the stage.

Early and personal life

Mandel was a native of Chicago. He graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

in 1949, after studying writing and drama. He married his wife Dorothy in 1950, and they had two sons, one of whom grew up to be a video game writer/designer. Mandel's first job upon returning to Chicago after graduation was as a music arranger for the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Calif ...

’s house orchestra. He supplemented his income by writing film trailers for motion pictures as well as television variety shows. Mandel next worked full-time for the W.B. Doner advertising agency until 1952 when he entered the army for service in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

Career

Upon his release from the army in 1954, Mandel moved to New York and began his full-time career as a writer for the CBS anthologies ''Studio One in Hollywood'', ''The Seven Lively Arts"'' and ''Playhouse 90''. In 1959, his "Project Immortality" script for ''Playhouse 90'' won a Sylvania Award and his first Emmy nomination for best drama. In 1968 he won his first Emmy for " Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" on ''CBS Playhouse''. In 1971–72, he was head writer on the

CBS Daytime CBS Daytime is a division within CBS that is responsible for the daytime television block programming on the CBS' late morning and early afternoon schedule. The block has historically encompassed soap operas and game shows. Schedule NOTE: All tim ...

serial '' Love of Life'', for which he won the 1973 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Writing in a Daytime Serial. Mandel's best known and most acclaimed work was the 2001 TV film ''Conspiracy'', which dramatized the 1942 Wannsee Conference and featured an ensemble cast, including Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci, and Colin Firth. The film was nominated for multiple awards and Mandel personally won the 2001 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For a Miniseries or a Movie. In 2004, Mandel received the Paddy Chayefsky lifetime achievement award at the 56th Writers Guild of America Awards. On June 15, 2010, Steven Bowie interviewed Mandel for the

Archive of American Television The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (formerly titled the Archive of American Television) is a project of the nonprofit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, that records interviews with notable ...

. Mandel's papers, scripts, articles, and correspondence are collected by the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, an archive of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Historical Society. In total, he and his dramas have been awarded two Emmy awards (out of five total nominations), a Sylvania award, a number of Writers Guild Awards, two Peabody awards, and a BAFTA as well. Mandel died on March 24, 2020, in Lenox, Massachusetts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandel, Loring 1928 births Primetime Emmy Award winners 2020 deaths American male screenwriters American soap opera writers Writers Guild of America Award winners University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Writers from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of the Korean War Screenwriters from Illinois American male television writers