Thomas Henle Baum (born 1940 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, novelist, and short-story writer. A graduate of Harvard, where he majored in math, Baum is best known for writing ''

The Sender ''The Sender'' is a 1982 British-American supernatural horror film directed by Roger Christian (filmmaker), Roger Christian, written by Tom Baum, Thomas Baum, and starring Kathryn Harrold, Željko Ivanek (in his film debut), Shirley Knight, and ...

'' and ''

Carny Carny, also spelled carnie, is an informal term used in North America for a traveling carnival employee, and the language they use, particularly when the employee operates a game ("joint"), food stand ("grab", "popper", or "floss wagon"), or rid ...

,'' both of which he wrote directly (as Thomas Baum) for the screen. He lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with his producer wife,

Carol Baum Carol Baum (née Friedland) is an American movie producer best known for her work with Sandollar Productions. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As of 2024, she teaches producing at the USC School of Cinematic A ...

. He has two sons, Will Baum and

Henry Baum Henry Baum (born June 29, 1972) is an American writer, blogger, and musician. He writes novels that are published in the UK ( Rebel Inc.) and France. Early life Baum was born and raised in New York. He relocated to Los Angeles in his early chil ...

, and three grandchildren. He is a descendant of the German anatomist

Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle (; 9 July 1809 – 13 May 1885) was a German physician, pathologist, and anatomist. He is credited with the discovery of the loop of Henle in the kidney. His essay, "On Miasma and Contagia," was an early argument ...

, who discovered and named the

loop of Henle In the kidney, the loop of Henle () (or Henle's loop, Henle loop, nephron loop or its Latin counterpart ''ansa nephroni'') is the portion of a nephron that leads from the proximal convoluted tubule to the distal convoluted tubule. Named after it ...

in the human kidneys.

Awards and nominations

*Baum has been nominated for several cable awards as a writer and director on '' The Hitchhiker'' (

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

) * Writers Guild Best TV Movie award for ''

Witness to the Execution In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

'' * Writers Guild Paul Selvin award for ''

'' *Won L.A.'s Eclectic Theatre Company Hurricane Season One-Act Festival for "The Out of Body Treatment for Marital Dysfunction" *Out of the Box Award in a St. Croix, Wisconsin, Festival Theatre Festival *Best Production in N.Y.'s End Time Theatre festival for "Epicenter" *People Magazine's "Beach Book of the Week" for "Out of Body"

Film and television credits

*''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel written by French novelist Jules Ve ...

'' (2008) *
Die with Me
' (2001) *'' Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula'' (2000) *'' Journey to the Center of the Earth (TV miniseries)'' (1999) *''Shattered Mind'' (TV Movie)(1996) *''Kidnapped: In the Line of Duty'' (TV Movie) (1995) *''

'' (TV Movie)(1994) *''

Nightmare Cafe ''Nightmare Cafe'' is an American science-fiction television series that aired on NBC for an abridged first season from January to April 1992. While the overall tone of the program was that of a mystical fantasy, it frequently incorporated eleme ...

'' (4 episodes, 1992) *- "Aliens Ate My Lunch" (1992) *- "Sanctuary for a Child" (1992) *- "The Heart of the Mystery" (1992) *- "Dying Well Is the Best Revenge" (1992) *''Night Visions'' (TV Movie)(1990) *''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and '' Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel wa ...

'' (TV series) (story - 1 episode) *''

No Direction Home ''No Direction Home: Bob Dylan'' is a 2005 documentary film directed by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th-century American popular music and culture. The film focuses on the period between Dylan's arriva ...

'' (1989) *''The Haunting of Sarah Hardy'' (TV Movie 1989) *''The Hitchhiker'' (TV Series) (written by - 3 episodes, 1987) (teleplay - 3 episodes, 1985 - 1986) (story - 1 episode, 1986) *- "Made for Each Other" (1987) *- "Doctor's Orders" (1987) *- "Minuteman" (1987) *- "The Curse" (1986) *- "Ghostwriter" (1986) *- "WGOD" (1986) *'' The Manhattan Project'' (1986) *''Secret Weapons'' (TV Movie) (1985) *''

'' (1982) *''

'' (1980) *'' Simon'' (1980) *''

ABC Afterschool Specials ''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American anthology television series that aired on ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presented situations, often controver ...

'' (TV Series) (screenplay - 1 episode, 1977) (screenwriter - 1 episode, 1976) (writer - 1 episode, 1976) *- "The Horrible Honchos" (1977) *- "P.J. and the President's Son" (1976) *- "The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon" (1976)

Books

* ''

Hugo the Hippo ''Hugo the Hippo'' () is a 1975 animated film produced by the Pannónia Filmstúdió of Hungary and co-produced in the United States by Brut Productions, a division of French perfume company Faberge. It was released in Hungary in 1975 and in th ...

'' * ''It Looks Alive To Me!'' * ''Out Of Body'' * ''The Sender'' * ''We Remember Everything * ''Counterparts'' (Dial Press,1970)

Short stories

* ''Lost and Found'' (Playboy. Best SF 1974) * ''Backward, Turn Backward'' (Playboy. Best Short Stories 1972) * ''On Location'' (Playboy) * ''The Big Pieces'' (Playboy) * ''The Farabi Connection'' (Playgirl) * ''The Rebirth of Yost'' (Playboy) * ''A Friend in Need'' (Transatlantic Review)

Short films

Co-directed with Dennis Lo * ''Kansas City Gork'' * ''Come Dance With Me'' * ''The Catman's Primal Scene''

Produced plays

*''Wonk Love'' *''The Great Outdoors'' *''Ashley Saves the World'' *''Taps for Paps'' *''SchadenFriday'' *''The Out of Body Treatment for Marital Dysfunction'' *''Don't Empty the Frog (We Are Not Alone)'' *''Human Services'' *''Front Door Open'' *''Epicenter'' *''Endangered Species'' *''Dork Love'' *''Breach'' *''Shock Therapy'' *''Toby 24/7 Gets Lucky'' *''Free Pass'' *''Frenemies'' *''Last One Under'' *''Kalifa Reports for Treatment'' *''Sperm''

Miscellaneous

Tom Baum was a columnist for Filmmaking Review, and columnist and puzzlemaster for the Innuendo, a Los Angeles free paper. He taught screenwriting at UCLA and USC.

References

External links

Tom Baum on Filmmaking Review
* 1940 births Living people American television writers American male television writers Harvard College alumni University of Southern California faculty University of California, Los Angeles faculty {{US-tv-writer-stub