David Zelag Goodman (January 15, 1930 – September 26, 2011) was a playwright and screenwriter for both TV and film.> His most prolific period was from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He was nominated for an Academy Award for ''

Lovers and Other Strangers ''Lovers and Other Strangers'' is a 1970 American romantic comedy film directed by Cy Howard, adapted from the 1968 Broadway play by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna. The cast includes Richard S. Castellano, Gig Young, Cloris Leachman, Anne J ...

'', though he did not win. He co-wrote, with

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received two Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Instit ...

, the screenplay for 1971's controversial '' Straw Dogs''. Other films that he wrote or co-wrote included ''

Logan's Run ''Logan's Run'' is a science fiction novel by American writers William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, the novel depicts a dystopic Malthusian future society in which both population and the consumption of resources ...

'', '' Monte Walsh'', and ''

Farewell, My Lovely ''Farewell, My Lovely'' is a novel by Raymond Chandler, published in 1940, the second novel he wrote featuring the Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times and was also adapted for the stage and radio. ...

''. He also wrote a number of the episodes of ''

The Untouchables Untouchable or Untouchables may refer to: People * Untouchability, the practice of socially ostracizing a minority group of very low social status * Untouchables, word for the Dalits or Scheduled Castes of India * Untouchables (law enforcement), ...

'' in the early 1960s.

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, he majored in English at

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

, then studied at Yale Drama School in 1958. At age 24, his play, ''High Named Today'', which was to have starred

Jane Wyatt Jane Waddington Wyatt ( ; August 12, 1910 – October 20, 2006) was an American actress. She starred in a number of Hollywood films, such as Frank Capra's '' Lost Horizon'', but is likely best known for her role as homemaker and mother Margaret ...

on Broadway, ended up running briefly

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in February 1954. He was often sought as a "script doctor" because he could quickly identify screenplay flaws, as when

Sherry Lansing Sherry Lansing (born Sherry Lee Duhl; July 31, 1944) is an American former film studio executive serving as chairwoman of Universal Music Group's board of directors since 2023. She previously served as chairwoman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, ...

brought him in to work on the thriller ''

Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne and written by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. It follows Dan Gallagher ( Michael Douglas), an attorney who cheats on his ...

''. According to his friend, the film and television producer

Zev Braun Zev Braun (October 19, 1928 – October 17, 2019) was an American motion picture producer. Though much of his work is in television (most notably as the executive producer of the ''Tour of Duty (TV series), Tour of Duty'' series) he was a su ...

, Goodman said to Lansing of the

Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...

character: "You can't let her off the hook. You should kill her. Let's drown her!" Until his death from

progressive supranuclear palsy Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain, linked to 4-repeat tau pathology. The condition leads to symptoms including Balance di ...

, he was married for 61 years to Marjorie Goodman. Their daughter Kevis Goodman is an associate professor of English at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

Filmography

*''

The Stranglers of Bombay ''The Stranglers of Bombay'' is a 1960 British adventure horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Guy Rolfe, Allan Cuthbertson and Andrew Cruickshank. It was written by David Z. Goodman and produced by Hammer Films. Bernard Robinson ...

'' (1960) (as David Z. Goodman) *''

'' (1970) (with

Joseph Bologna Joseph Bologna (December 30, 1934 – August 13, 2017) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films '' My Favorite Year'', '' Blame It on Rio'', and '' Transylvania 6-5000''. Life and career B ...

and

Renée Taylor Renée Adorée Taylor (née Wexler; born March 19, 1933) is an American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director. Taylor was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for the film '' Lovers and Other Strangers ...

) *'' Monte Walsh'' (1970) (with

Lukas Heller Lukas Heller (21 July 1930 – 2 November 1988) was a German-born British screenwriter. Biography Heller was born to a Jewish family in Kiel. His father was political philosopher Hermann Heller. He was known for writing the screen adaptions for ...

) *'' Straw Dogs'' (1971) (with

) *'' Man on a Swing'' (1974) *''

'' (1975) *''

'' (1976) *'' March or Die'' (1977) (with

Dick Richards Dick Richards (born 1936) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Known as a storyteller and an "actor’s director", Richards worked with Robert Mitchum, Gene Hackman, Martin Sheen, Blythe Danner, Catherine Deneuve, Alan Arki ...

) *'' Eyes of Laura Mars'' (1978) (with

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

) *'' Fighting Back'' (1982) (with Tom Hedley) *'' Man, Woman and Child'' (1983) (with

Erich Segal Erich Wolf Segal (June 16, 1937January 17, 2010) was an American author, screenwriter, educator, and classicist who wrote the bestselling novel '' Love Story'' (1970) and its film adaptation. Early life and education Born and raised in a Jew ...

)

TV credits

*''

Goodyear Theatre ''Goodyear Theatre'' (also known as ''Award Theatre'' and ''Golden Years of Television'') is a 30-minute dramatic television anthology series telecast on NBC from October 14, 1957, to September 12, 1960. Cast Actors appearing in the series inc ...

'' (1960) *'' The New Breed'' (1961) *'' Naked City'' (1963) *''

'' (1961-1963) *''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American soldiers ...

'' (1963, episode "High Named Today") *'' Mr. Broadway'' (1964) *''

Freedom Road ''Freedom Road'' was a 1979 American TV historical drama mini-series starring boxer Muhammad Ali and Kris Kristofferson, based on the 1944 novel by Howard Fast and directed by Jan Kadar. Running for four hours, it was first broadcast on NBC on ...

'' (1979)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, David Zelag 1930 births 2011 deaths American male screenwriters Jewish American screenwriters Writers from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews