Loring Mandel (May 5, 1928 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright and screenwriter whose notable works include the television film ''
Conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
''. He wrote for radio, television, film and the stage.
Early and personal life
Mandel was a native of Chicago.
He graduated from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
in 1949, after studying writing and drama.
He married his wife Dorothy in 1950, and they had two sons, one of whom grew up to be a video game writer/designer.
Mandel's first job upon returning to Chicago after graduation was as a music arranger for the
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
's house orchestra. He supplemented his income by writing film trailers for motion pictures as well as television variety shows. Mandel next worked full-time for the
W.B. Doner advertising agency until 1952 when he entered the army for service in the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
.
Career
Upon his release from the army in 1954, Mandel moved to New York and began his full-time career as a writer for the CBS anthologies ''Studio One in Hollywood'', ''The Seven Lively Arts"'' and
''Playhouse 90''.
In 1959, his "Project Immortality" script for ''Playhouse 90'' won a Sylvania Award and his first Emmy nomination for best drama. In 1968 he won his first Emmy for "
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" on ''CBS Playhouse''.
In 1971–72, he was head writer on the
CBS Daytime serial ''
Love of Life
''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation '' Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ...
'', for which he won the 1973
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Writing in a Daytime Serial.
Besides his prolific work in television, Mandel wrote the screenplays for three produced feature films: ''
Countdown'' (1967), a science fiction drama directed by
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...
, starring
James Caan and
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...
; ''
Promises in the Dark'' (1979), a medical drama produced and directed by
Jerome Hellman, starring
Marsha Mason; and ''
The Little Drummer Girl'' (1984), a political drama directed by
George Roy Hill
George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American actor and film director.
His films include ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford; both fil ...
and starring
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
.
Mandel's best known and most acclaimed work was the 2001 TV film ''Conspiracy'', which dramatized the 1942
Wannsee Conference and featured an ensemble cast, including
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
,
Stanley Tucci, and
Colin Firth. The film was nominated for multiple awards and Mandel personally won the 2001 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For a Miniseries or a Movie.
In 2004, Mandel received the
Paddy Chayefsky lifetime achievement award at the 56th
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility
Th ...
s. On June 15, 2010, Steven Bowie interviewed Mandel for the
Archive of American Television.
Mandel's papers, scripts, articles, and correspondence are collected by the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, an archive of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Historical Society. In total, he and his dramas have been awarded two
Emmy
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 catego ...
awards (out of five total nominations), a Sylvania award, a number of Writers Guild Awards, two
Peabody award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
s, and a
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
as well.
Mandel died on March 24, 2020,at age 91 in
Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 United States census ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandel, Loring
1928 births
Primetime Emmy Award winners
2020 deaths
American male screenwriters
American soap opera writers
Writers Guild of America Award winners
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Writers from Chicago
Military personnel from Illinois
United States Army soldiers
United States Army personnel of the Korean War
Screenwriters from Illinois
American male television writers