AJ Carothers
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A. J. Carothers (October 22, 1931 – April 9, 2007) was an American playwright and television writer, best known for his work with
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
.


Life and career

Born in
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
on October 22, 1931, Carothers was older than his two siblings, Gibson and Lesley. He sold his first story, a murder mystery, to a classmate when he was 9 for 15 cents. After an Army stint in Panama – where he helped create the first television station in the Caribbean – he returned to Los Angeles to pursue his career in 1957. During his career, he wrote more than 100 motion pictures, television shows, and plays. His final works included writing the book for the
Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of brothers Robert Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard Sherman (June 12, 1928 – May 25, 2024). Together they received ...
stage musical ''
Busker Alley ''Busker Alley'' is a musical with music and lyrics by the Sherman Brothers and a book by AJ Carothers, based on the 1938 British film '' St. Martin's Lane''. Tommy Tune led a 1995 touring production as Charlie Baxter, a street entertainer in ...
'' which toured the U.S. in 1996, and was produced in November, 2006, by the York Theater Festival, and ''Two Can Play'', which enjoyed successful runs in Kansas City and Virginia. Carothers also wrote speeches for Nancy Reagan, John Ritter, Patrick Stewart, John Lithgow and many others. He wrote the scripts for the Music Center Spotlight Awards from its 1995 inception through 2006. Carothers garnered many honors, including the Distinguished Artists Award given by the Los Angeles Music Center, numerous Box Office Blue Ribbon awards, and The Kinkaid School Distinguished Alumnus award. He was a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and served on its Writers Executive Committee, as well as The Writers Guild of America. The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' named him "Father of the Year" in 1967.


Personal life and death

Carothers was married to Caryl Carothers for 47 years, and had three sons, Christopher, Cameron, and Andrew. In his later years, Carothers was diagnosed with
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
, which eventually took his life on April 9, 2007.


Major screenwriting credits

*''
Miracle of the White Stallions ''Miracle of the White Stallions'' is a 1963 American adventure film, adventure war film released by Walt Disney starring Robert Taylor (American actor), Robert Taylor (playing Alois Podhajsky), Lilli Palmer, and Eddie Albert. It is based on ...
'' (1963) also known as ''The Flight of the White Stallions'' (UK) *''
Emil and the Detectives ''Emil and the Detectives'' () is a 1929 novel set mainly in Berlin, by the German writer Erich Kästner and illustrated by Walter Trier. It was Kästner's first major success and the only one of his pre-1945 works to escape Nazi censorship. The ...
'' (1964) *''
The Happiest Millionaire ''The Happiest Millionaire'' is a 1967 American musical film starring Fred MacMurray, based upon the true story of Philadelphia millionaire Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Sr., Anthony Drexel Biddle. The film, featuring music by the Sherman Brothe ...
'' (1967) (screenplay) *'' Never a Dull Moment'' (1968) *'' Hero at Large'' (1980) - Stage Director *'' The Secret of My Success'' (1987) (screenplay) (story)


Major television writing credits

*'' Studio One'' (1948) TV Series (writer) *''
The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-Worl ...
'' Episode: "The Man Who Died Twice" (1959) (as A.J. Carothers) *'' Bourbon Street Beat'' (1959) TV Series (writer) *''
My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...
'' (5 episodes, 1961–1962) TV series (writer) *'' Nanny and the Professor'' (1970) TV Series (creator) (writer) (executive script consultant) (executive story consultant) *''
Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an impudent old woman who enters the forest home of three anthropomorphic bachelor bears while th ...
'' (1971) *''Miss Stewart, Sir'' (1972) (TV) (as A.J. Carothers) *''Topper Returns'' (1973) (TV) (as A.J. Carothers) *''Forever'' (1978) (TV) *'' The Thief of Baghdad'' (1978) (TV) *''
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
'' TV serial episodes including: "Never a Dull Moment" (1979); "Emil and the Detectives: Part 1" (1966), "Emil and the Detectives: Part 2" (1966); Flight of the White Stallions: Part 1" (1965) TV Episode (writer) "Flight of the White Stallions: Part 2" (1965) TV Episode (writer) *''Summer Girl'' (1983) (TV) also known as ''The Hands That Rob the Cradle'' *'' Goodnight, Beantown'' (1983) (TV) including the
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
and the "Custody" episode *'' Making of a Male Model'' (1983) (TV)


Film credits


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carothers, A. J. 1931 births 2007 deaths Writers from Houston Disney people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters American male dramatists and playwrights Screenwriters from Texas 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters