Robert Thom (July 2, 1929 – May 8, 1979) was an American writer of films, plays, novels and poems. He is best known for writing the screenplay for '' Death Race 2000'' (1975), produced by Roger Corman's New World and directed by

Paul Bartel Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy ''Eating Raoul'', which he co-wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel appeared in over 90 movies an ...

Early life

Born Robert Thom in Brooklyn, New York, to mother Lily Pendlebury, he had a sister. Thom graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

as a promising poet in 1952 and became a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

. He studied in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

for a year.

Career

He sold his first play, ''The Minotaur'', to the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, within the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The current Broadway theater, completed in 1972, i ...

producers, José Quintero, Ted Mann, Emilie Stevens and Jason Wingreen, in 1954. He continued and succeeded in establishing himself as a young playwriting talent in the New York City theater scene. In 1957, he came to Broadway to work on ''Compulsion'', based on the book and play by Meyer Levin about the Leopold and Loeb case. It starred

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 3 October 1998) was a British-American actor whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years. Born in London, he began his acting career as a child in his n ...

and Dean Stockwell and ran for 140 performances. Thom was credited only as an assistant to the producers and received 20% of Levin's royalties. He later worked on the screenplay for the 1959 film version starring

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

. Thom moved to the West Coast to work for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

and wrote screenplays for such youth films as '' The Subterraneans'', based on the novel by

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

; and '' All the Fine Young Cannibals'', loosely based on a novel by Rosamond Marshall (both released in 1960). He also worked on others for which he was uncredited. He co-wrote an episode of '' The DuPont Show of the Week'' ("The Legend of Lylah Clare" 1963) which was broadcast on NBC. It was later developed as a film of the same name, released in 1968. A week after the broadcast of the ''DuPont Show'', Thom won an

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 ...

for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama for a two-part episode of the TV series '' The Defenders'' called ''The Madman'', starring

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Academy ...

and Don Gordon. His play ''Bicycle Ride to Nevada'', starring Franchot Tone, opened on Broadway on September 24, 1963 but closed after one day. '' Wild in the Streets'', based on a short story written by Thom and originally published in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' under the title, "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" was an

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

success for

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

in 1968. Thom both wrote and for the first time directed his own film, '' Angel, Angel, Down We Go'', in 1969 for AIP. He wrote several novels and had just finished ''Masquerade'' before his death.

Personal life

Thom was married to actress Joan Zell from 1953 to 1956. She committed suicide at his home in 1961. He married actress Janice Rule in 1956; the couple had a daughter, Kate, before they divorced in 1961. Thom married actress Millie Perkins in 1964; they had two daughters, Lillie and Hedy. They were separated at the time of his death in 1979. Thom, then a resident of New York City, passed away from a heart attack while staying in a hotel in Malibu, California, at age 49.

Selected theatre credits

*''The Minotaur'' (1954) *''Sailing to Byzantium'' *''Compulsion'' (1957) *''Bicycle Ride to Nevada'' (1963)

Selected Poems

*''Children of Ladybug'' *''Vaticum''

Selected film credits

*'' Compulsion'' (1959) *'' The Subterraneans'' (1960) *'' All the Fine Young Cannibals'' (1960) *'' Wild in the Streets'' (1968) *'' The Legend of Lylah Clare'' (1968) *'' Angel, Angel, Down We Go'' (1969) – also directed *'' Bloody Mama'' (1970) *'' The Phantom of Hollywood'' (1974) *''Alias Big Cherry'' (1975) *'' Death Race 2000'' (1975) *'' Crazy Mama'' (1975) *'' The Witch Who Came from the Sea'' (1976)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Robert American male screenwriters 1929 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters