James Willis Cash (January 17, 1941 – March 25, 2000) was an American film writer, noted for writing such 1980s films as ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

'' and '' The Secret of My Success''.

Early life and education

Cash was born on January 17, 1941, in Boyne City,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. In 1970, Cash received a B.A. in English from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

(MSU). In 1972, Cash received an M.A. in Television and Radio from

Career

As a professor, Cash taught writing and film history at

. Cash met a student named Jack Epps, Jr., who would later become his writing partner. Epps was from the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

area. Cash and Epps began their writing relationship while at

. In 1975, they wrote their first story together in the MSU Union Grill. Soon afterward Epps moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

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 ...

. Cash continued to live in

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, while Epps lived in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. They collaborated via computer. In 1986, Cash and Epps co-wrote ''

''.

Personal life

Cash married his first wife, Mariann (Mimi), when he was a professor at MSU and she was a sophomore at MSU studying communications. Cash and his second wife, Cynthia, had four children. He and his wife had a restaurant in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

. Cash also established several scholarships for film production and performing arts. He died on March 25, 2000 in

after hospitalization for an intestinal ailment at the age of 59.

Filmography

* ''Dangerously'' (with Jack Epps Jr.) (1978) (unproduced) * '' Izzy and Moe'' (with Jack Epps Jr., Steven Patrick Bell and Robert Boris) (1985) (TV) (story only) * ''

'' (with Jack Epps Jr.) (1986) * '' Legal Eagles'' (with Jack Epps Jr.) (1986) * '' The Secret of My Success'' (with Jack Epps Jr. and A.J. Carothers) (1987) * ''

Turner & Hooch ''Turner & Hooch'' is a 1989 American buddy cop comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Beasley the Dog (among others) as the eponymous characters respectively. The film also co-stars Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson and Reginald VelJohnson. It w ...

'' (with Jack Epps Jr., Dennis Shryack, Michael Blodgett and Daniel Petrie Jr.) (1989) * ''

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the '' Detroit Mirror'', and was distributed by the Chicago T ...

'' (with Jack Epps Jr.) (1990) * ''

Anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large boas of the genus ''Eunectes''. They are a semiaquatic group of snakes found in tropical South America. Three to five extant and one extinct species are currently recognized, including one of the l ...

'' (with Jack Epps Jr. and Hans Bauer) (1997) * ''

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas ''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas'' is a 2000 American romantic comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jim Cash, Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, and Jack Epps, Jr., and is the prequel to Levant's ''The Flintstones'' (1994), based ...

'' (with Jack Epps Jr.) (2000) * '' Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid'' (with Jack Epps Jr. and Hans Bauer) (2004) (story and elements from the original ''Anaconda'' script) * '' Top Gun: Maverick'' (based on characters created by with Jack Epps Jr.) (2022) (story only) (screenplay from the film ''Top Gun'')

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cash, Jim 1941 births 2000 deaths People from Boyne City, Michigan American male screenwriters Michigan State University alumni Screenwriting instructors Screenwriters from Michigan 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Deaths from digestive disease