Gerald Green (April 8, 1922 – August 29, 2006) was an American author, journalist, and television writer.

Biography

Green was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York as Gerald Greenberg. He was the son of a physician, Dr. Samuel Greenberg. He was Jewish. Green attended Columbia College, where he edited the ''

Jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

'', starred in several

Varsity Show The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University. Founded in 1893 as a fundraiser for the university's fledgling athletic teams, the Varsity Show now draws together the entire Columbia undergraduate community for a series of ...

s, and was a member of the

Philolexian Society The Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary and debate societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. Founded in 1802, the society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Compo ...

. He graduated from the college in 1942 and, after serving in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in Europe during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he was also the editor of the army's '' Stars and Stripes'' newspaper, he returned to New York to attend the Columbia Journalism School. Green wrote many novels, the best known being ''The Last Angry Man'', published in 1956. It was adapted into a movie by the same name which was nominated for

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Muni) and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White. His other novels include ''His Majesty O'Keefe'' (co-authored with Lawrence Klingman), adapted into a 1954 film, ''North West'', ''Portofino PTA'', ''To Brooklyn With Love'', ''My Son the Jock'', ''The Lotus Eaters'' and ''East and West''. His 1962 novel ''Portofino P.T.A.'' was adapted into a musical, ''

Something More! ''Something More!'' is a musical with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman. The book by Nate Monaster is based on the 1962 novel ''Portofino P.T.A.'' by Gerald Green. Composer Robert Prince contributed some music ...

'', by composer

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...

and lyricists Marilyn and

Alan Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (née Katz; November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celeb ...

. He wrote the

teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...

for ''

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

'', a critically acclaimed 1978 TV miniseries that won eight

Emmy Awards 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 categor ...

, including one for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series," and was credited with persuading the

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

government to repeal the statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes. He later adapted the script into a novel of the same title. In recognition for this effort, Green was awarded the

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (English: ,; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Septe ...

International Peace Prize for literature, 1979. Green won another Emmy nomination for his 1985 TV script for ''Wallenberg: A Hero's Story''. Green was also a writer, producer, and director for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

. In 1952, he co-created (with

Dave Garroway David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American Celebrity, television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today (American TV program), Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style ...

)

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

''. Green lived in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

for twenty years and moved to

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. About an hour from New York City by train, the town ...

. His first wife, Marie, died of cancer. They had three children: Nancy, Ted and David. He married Marlene Eagle in 1979, becoming stepfather to Dr Janie Worth (née Eagle), Julie Cardo (née Eagle) and David Eagle. Green died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

on August 29, 2006.

Books written by Gerald Green

Novels

*''His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1950) (with Lawrence Klingman) *''The Sword and the Sun'' (1953) *''The Last Angry Man'' (1956) *''The Lotus Eaters'' (1959) *''The Heartless Light'' (1962) *''The Portofino P.T.A'' (1962) *''The Legion of Noble Christians: Or, the Sweeney Survey'' (1966) *''To Brooklyn with Love'' (1967) *''Faking It: Or, the Wrong Hungarian'' (1971) *''Block Buster'' (1972) *''Tourist'' (1973) *''My Son the Jock'' (1975) *''Hostage Heart'' (1976) *''An American Prophet'' (1977) *''Holocaust'' (1978 by Transworld Publishers) *''The Healers'' (1979) *''Girl'' (1979) *''The Chains'' (1980) *''Murfy's Men'' (1982) *''Karpov's Brain'' (1983) *''Not in Vain'' (1984) *''East and West'' (1986 and 1987 by Fawcett Publishing) – and

Plays

*Kent State: Four-hour Teleplay (1980)

Non-fiction

*The Stones of Zion: A Novelist's Journal in Israel (1971) *''Artists of Terezin'' (1978)

References and external links

*
Gerald Green, Biography, RosettaBooks.com
Retrieved June 16, 2007
Stoppel, Ellen Kaye Stoppel. Editorial Review: East and West by Gerald Green, Library Journal, Drake University Law Library, Des Moines, Reed Business Information, Inc., 1986, and Amazon.com
Retrieved June 16, 2007
Books Written by Gerald Green
Retrieved June 16, 2007
The Works of Gerald Green, FantasticFiction.co.uk
Retrieved June 16, 2007
Reader's Digest Condensed Books, A Place to Hide; Nightshade; East and West; a Time for Heroes (Abridged/Hardcover) by Evelyn Anthony (author); Gloria Murphy (author); Gerald Green (author), Will Bryant (author), Volume 2, 1987
Retrieved June 16, 2007 Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Gerald 1922 births 2006 deaths American male journalists Journalists from New York City 20th-century American novelists Columbia College (New York) alumni Writers from Stamford, Connecticut Writers from Brooklyn Novelists from New York City American male novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Connecticut Deaths from pneumonia in Connecticut 20th-century American non-fiction writers United States Army personnel of World War II