Walon Green (born December 15, 1936) is an American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

director and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, for both television and film.

Career

Green produced and directed documentaries for National Geographic and David Wolper, including ''

The Hellstrom Chronicle ''The Hellstrom Chronicle'' is an American film released in 1971 which combines elements of documentary, science fiction, horror and apocalyptic prophecy to present a gripping satirical depiction of the struggle for survival between humans and i ...

'', for which he was accorded the Oscar and the BAFTA in 1972, and ''

The Secret Life of Plants ''The Secret Life of Plants'' (1973) is a book by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird. The book documents controversial experiments that claim to reveal unusual phenomena regarding plants such as plant sentience, discovered through experiment ...

'' in 1979. Among his screenwriting credits are the films ''

The Wild Bunch ''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw ga ...

'', '' Sorcerer'', '' The Brink's Job'', '' Solarbabies'', ''

Eraser An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from the material first used) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellum). Erasers have ...

'', '' The Hi-Lo Country'' and '' RoboCop 2''. On television, he wrote and produced episodes of '' Hill Street Blues'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

'', '' ER'' and ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensembl ...

'' for which he received a 1995

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

. More recently, he was a Creative Consultant for the Chris Carter science fiction TV series ''

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

'', where he co-wrote the episode "

Paper Dove "'Paper Dove" is the twenty-second and final episode of the first season of the American crime- thriller television series ''Millennium''. It premiered on the Fox network on May 16, 1997. The episode was written by Ted Mann and Walon Green, an ...

" with Ted Mann. He is also notable for allowing a millipede to crawl over his face in the tunnel scene of '' Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. In fall 2008, he assumed the post of executive producer for the

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alexandra Eames on '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', a spin-off of ''Law & Order'', and Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series '' Oz''. Early life Erbe was born in ...

episodes of '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', he took over as show runner/executive producer for all episodes in the series' ninth season. In 2008, Green was the Head Writer/ Showrunner of the television pilot ''Bunker Hill'', starring Donnie Wahlberg and Bridget Moynahan and directed by Jon Avnet. The pilot was not picked up for a series. Green wrote the 2015 miniseries adaptation of '' Killing Jesus: A History''.

Awards and nominations

Walon Green was nominated in 1970 for an Oscar for best original screenplay for ''

''. He was awarded an Oscar in 1972 for his documentary ''

'', for which he also won The Technical Grand Prize at Cannes in 1971 and the Flaherty Documentary Award. He was nominated for Primetime Emmys in 1986 for '' Hill Street Blues'', in 1993 and 1994 for his work on ''

'' and won an Emmy in 1995 for his writing on ''

''. Green was nominated for an Emmy Award for co-writing (with

Robert Nathan Robert Gruntal Nathan (January 2, 1894 – May 25, 1985) was an American novelist and poet. Biography Nathan was born into a prominent New York Sephardic family. He was educated in the United States and Switzerland and attended Harvard Unive ...

) the 1993 ''Law & Order'' episode " Manhood". The episode won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Dramatic Television Episode.Tropiano, Stephen (2002). ''The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV''. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. . p. 83 Green was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1993 for an episode of ''Law & Order'' and won the same award in 1995 which he shared with David Milch and Steven Bochco for their ''NYPD Blue'' episode "Simone Says."

Personal life

Walon Green was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

on December 15, 1936. He is the father of Darwin Green, a writer and film editor, and Collin Green, a teacher and photographer.

References

External links

*
Walon Green
on NPR's '' Fresh Air'' (March 10, 2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Walon 1936 births Living people American male screenwriters American television writers American documentary filmmakers Edgar Award winners Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners American male television writers