Charles Gary Allison (1938 – May 13, 2008) was an American screenwriter and film producer.

Early life and education

Allison spent the first years of his life in London, returning to the United States in 1944. He grew up living simultaneously in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, attending school in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, England, Tokyo, Saigon, and Hong Kong. He obtained his undergraduate degree in international relations from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1960, where he was a member of the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly referred to as Lambda Chi, is a fraternities and sororities, collegiate fraternity in North America. With over 300,000 initiates as of 2024, it is the third-largest social fraternity in the world by number of initia ...

fraternity.

Career

From 1961 to 1963, he served as a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

social aide during the

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

administration. From 1963 to 1969 he chaired a non-partisan White House youth program under both the

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

administrations, during which time he worked on a master's degree in international relations at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. Allison returned to the

in 1973 to obtain two master's degrees (in cinema production and professional writing) and a Ph.D. in Philosophy. In 1977, he wrote and produced '' Fraternity Row'' for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, which won him numerous industry awards. He worked continuously on a number of studio films in the U.S. and abroad, and also wrote and produced The First Olympics: Athens 1896 (1984), a TV mini-series for Columbia Pictures Television. The mini-series aired on NBC in 1984, and depicts the adventures of the United States' first Olympic team at the Athens 1896 Games. "The First Olympics", which received a number of

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nominations and awards, also won Allison the WGA Annual Award for Outstanding Script of 1984 (Television Long Form Series) from his colleagues at the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

. In 1978, Allison helped to found and served as co-chair of the Utah/US Film Festival with

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

, which would later go on to become the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. Allison began work in 1984 on "The Olympic Century", the official 25 volume history of the modern Olympic movement, in a cooperative partnership with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

and several national Olympic committees. The series will be available to teachers, schools, students and libraries beginning in the Fall of 2008. In 1987, the series development was designated 1st Century Project with Allison serving as chairman, which he has done up and until the present time. Allison died at his home in

, May 13, 2008. Allison was widowed in 1997 and is survived by one son, Richard, who lives and works in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Charles Gary 1938 births 2008 deaths Film producers from Los Angeles American male screenwriters American television producers Film festival founders Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Kennedy administration personnel Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel Nixon administration personnel USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni USC School of International Relations alumni Screenwriters from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American expatriates in England