Donald McGill Marshman Jr. (December 21, 1922 – September 17, 2015) credited as D. M. Marshman, was an American screenwriter known mainly for his contribution to the film script for ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

''.

Background

Marshman was the son of Donald McGill and Maud Louise (McMurray) Marshman. He was educated at

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

and

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, receiving his B.A. in 1945. Originally hired as an editorial researcher at ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine, he eventually became the magazine's movie editor before moving to ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, where he was the film critic.

Career

In 1946, Marshman collaborated with T. O. Cole on ''Poets Corner'', a comedy in three acts. In 1948, Marshman was recruited by

Charles Brackett Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with Billy Wilder on sixteen films. Life and career Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of ...

and

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

to help write the screenplay of ''Sunset Boulevard''. He suggested that a gigolo be introduced to the story as a romantic interest for the heroine. Characteristics of the main character can be attributed to Marshman, such as name similarity, personality, and identical birthday. He shared a screenwriting credit with Wilder and Brackett. The trio won an

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

. Marshman has two other films to his credit, the 1953 productions ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'' (screenplay) and '' Second Chance'' (story).D.M. Marshman Jr., Forgotten Screenwriter on 'Sunset Blvd.,' Dies at 92
/ref> He chose to return to the East Coast in 1953, where he pursued a career in advertising for Young & Rubicam and other agencies, including one he started himself. From 1974 to 1979, he conducted a fund-raising campaign for Yale University, and spent later years as a freelance consultant, writing speeches for corporate CEOs, and doing other business writing.

References

External links

* American male screenwriters Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners 2015 deaths 1922 births Writers from Cleveland Phillips Academy alumni Yale University alumni Life (magazine) people Time (magazine) people Screenwriters from Ohio Western Reserve Academy alumni {{US-screen-writer-1920s-stub