Elliott Baker (December 15, 1922 – February 9, 2007), born Elliot Joseph Cohen, was a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...

. He died from cancer. Baker was born in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

. He was the author of the

comic novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's litera ...

A Fine Madness ''A Fine Madness'' is a 1966 American Technicolor comedy film based on the 1964 novel by Elliott Baker that tells the story of Samson Shillitoe, a frustrated poet unable to finish a grand tome. It stars Sean Connery (in the midst of his James Bon ...

'', which was published in 1964 by G.P. Putnam's Sons. He adapted the novel into a 1966 motion picture starring

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

and

Joanne Woodward Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...

.''New York Times'' obituary, February 21, 2007 ''A Fine Madness'' tells the story of Samson Shillitoe, a rebellious poet in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

who battles a psychiatrist seeking to curb his mood swings via psychosurgery. The New York Times Book Review called the novel "a masterpiece of what one might call rebellious farce."New York Times obituary His other novels included ''Pocock & Pitt'' (Putnam, 1971), which was the basis for the television series ''

Adderly ''Adderly'' is a Canadian television adventure-drama series which aired from 1986 to 1988. It was broadcast on both Canadian TV and on CBS in the United States. It starred Vancouver-born Winston Rekert as "charming and witty V.H. Adderly," an op ...

'', which Baker also created; ''Klynt's Law'' (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1976); ''And We Were Young'' (Times Books, 1979); and ''Unhealthful Air'' (Viking, 1988). His novel ''The Penny Wars'' (Putnam, 1968) was adapted for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stage. As a screenwriter he wrote a number of television movies, and was nominated for an Emmy award in 1976 for his adaptation of '' The Entertainer''. He also wrote
Side Show
, the most famous episode of

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has b ...

's 1961 television anthologybr>horror series
'' Way Out'', which featured a carnival "electric woman with a light bulb for a head." He also wrote the mini-series adaptation of Lace from a novel by Shirley Conran and Lace 2. He wrote the script for the ABC mini-series Malibu starring William Atherton and Susan Dey.

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* 1922 births 2007 deaths People from Buffalo, New York Indiana University Bloomington alumni Deaths from cancer in the United States 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screenwriter-stub