Daryl Ponicsan
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Darryl Ponicsan (; born May 26, 1938) is an American writer. He is best known as the author of the 1970
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
''The Last Detail,'' which was adapted into the 1973 film of the same name starring
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
. A sequel, ''
Last Flag Flying ''Last Flag Flying'' is a 2017 American war comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater with a screenplay by Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, based upon the latter's 2005 novel of the same name. It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laure ...
'', based on his 2005 novel of the same name, was released in 2017 and he also co-wrote the screenplay with
Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...
. He also wrote the 1973 novel and
screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
'' Cinderella Liberty,'' starring
James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
. Ponicsan writes mystery novels under the pen name Anne Argula.


Life and career

Ponicsan was born in Shenandoah,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, the son of Anne (née Kuleck) and Frank G. Ponicsan, a merchant. He attended
Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...
, ( A.B., 1959) and
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, (
M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
, 1965). He was a high school English teacher in Owego,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
from 1959–62. He served in the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
from 1962 to 1965 aboard the USS ''Monrovia'' and USS ''Intrepid'' during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, attaining the rank of
Yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...
3rd Class.''The Last Detail'' Ponicsán, Darryl Hachette UK, 28 Sep. 2017 He was a social worker for
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
,
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, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in 1965, and a high school English teacher in La Cañada, California from 1966 to 1969. Ponicsan also wrote the screenplays for the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
movie ''A Girl Called Hatter Fox'' (1977), the movies ''
Nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...
'' (1987), ''
School Ties ''School Ties'' is a 1992 American drama film directed by Robert Mandel and starring Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, Randall Batinkoff, Andrew Lowery, Cole Hauser, Ben Affleck, and Anthony Rapp. Fraser plays the lead role as Dav ...
'' (1992), the HBO movie ''The Enemy Within'' (1992), and the CBS series ''The Mississippi'' (1983). He has worked frequently with producer-director
Harold Becker Harold Becker (born September 25, 1928) is an American film and television director, producer, and photographer from New York City, associated with the New Hollywood movement and best known for his work in the thriller genre. His body of work i ...
, penning scripts for '' Taps'' (1981), ''
Vision Quest A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English-language umbrella term, and may not always be accurate or used by ...
'' (1985), and ''
The Boost ''The Boost'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Harold Becker and based on the book ''Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream'' by Ben Stein. It stars James Woods, Sean Young, John Kapelos, Steven Hill, June Chandler and Amanda Blake. ...
'' (1988).


Bibliography

* ''The Last Detail'' (New York: Dial Press, 1970) * ''Goldengrove'' (New York: Dial Press, 1971) * ''Andoshen, Pa.'' (New York: Dial Press, 1973) * '' Cinderella Liberty'' (New York: Harper and Row, 1973) * ''Tom Mix Died for Your Sins'' (New York: Delacorte Press 1975) * ''The Accomplice'' (New York: Harper and Row, 1975) * ''The Ringmaster'' (New York: Delacorte Press, 1978) * ''An Unmarried Man'' (New York: Delacorte Press 1980) * ''
Last Flag Flying ''Last Flag Flying'' is a 2017 American war comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater with a screenplay by Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, based upon the latter's 2005 novel of the same name. It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laure ...
'' (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2005) * ''Homicide My Own'' (as Anne Argula) (New York: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2005) * ''Walla Walla Suite: A Room with No View'' (as Anne Argula) (New York: Ballantine, 2007) * '' Krapp's Last Cassette'' (as Anne Argula) (Ballantine, 2009) f. ''Krapp's Last Tape'' by Samuel Beckett">Krapp's_Last_Tape.html" ;"title="f. ''Krapp's Last Tape">f. ''Krapp's Last Tape'' by Samuel Beckett] * ''The Last Romanian'' (as Anne Argula) (New York: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2012) * ''Eternal Sojourners'' (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2019) * ''I Feel Bad About My Dick: Lamentations of Masculine Vanity and Lists of Startling Pertinence'' (Seattle: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2020)


Filmography

*''
The Last Detail ''The Last Detail'' is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, and Caro ...
'' (1973) (novel) *'' Cinderella Liberty'' (1973) (novel and screenwriter) *''
The Girl Called Hatter Fox ''The Girl Called Hatter Fox'' is a 1977 American TV movie starring Ronny Cox and directed by George Schaefer. It was the first film produced by EMI Television (they released '' The Amazing Howard Hughes'', but bought the production company duri ...
'' (1977) (TV) *'' Taps'' (with
Robert Mark Kamen Robert Mark Kamen (born October 9, 1947) is an American screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Karate Kid'' franchise as well as for his later collaborations with French filmmaker Luc Besson, which include the screenplay for ''The Fif ...
and James Lineberger) (1981) *''The Mississippi'' (1982) (TV) *''
Vision Quest A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English-language umbrella term, and may not always be accurate or used by ...
'' (1985) *''
Nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...
'' (with
Alvin Sargent Alvin Sargent (April 12, 1927 – May 9, 2019) was an American screenwriter. He won two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, for '' Julia'' (1977), and '' Ordinary People'' (1980). Sargent's other works include screenplays of the films ...
and
Tom Topor Tom Topor (born 1938) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Topor was born in Vienna, Austria, and he was brought to London in 1939, where he remained until he came to New York City in 1949. He earned his bachelor's degree at Br ...
) (1987) *''
The Boost ''The Boost'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Harold Becker and based on the book ''Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream'' by Ben Stein. It stars James Woods, Sean Young, John Kapelos, Steven Hill, June Chandler and Amanda Blake. ...
'' (1988) *''
School Ties ''School Ties'' is a 1992 American drama film directed by Robert Mandel and starring Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, Randall Batinkoff, Andrew Lowery, Cole Hauser, Ben Affleck, and Anthony Rapp. Fraser plays the lead role as Dav ...
'' (with
Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American billionaire and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. ...
) (1992) *'' The Enemy Within'' (with Ron Bass) (1994) (TV) *''
Random Hearts ''Random Hearts'' is a 1999 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas. Based on the 1984 novel by Warren Adler, the film is about a police officer and a Congresswoman who discover ...
'' (with Kurt Luedtke) (1999) *''
Last Flag Flying ''Last Flag Flying'' is a 2017 American war comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater with a screenplay by Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, based upon the latter's 2005 novel of the same name. It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laure ...
'' (2017) (novel and screenwriter)


References

* Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2002. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000079050. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponicsan, Darryl Living people 1938 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters Cornell University alumni Military personnel from Pennsylvania Muhlenberg College alumni Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Pennsylvania People from Owego, New York People from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Pennsylvania United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War