Paddy Chayefsky

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Paddy Chayefsky (1958)

Sidney Aaron Chayefsky (January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) known as Paddy Chayefsky was an acclaimed dramatist who transitioned from the golden age of American live television in the 1950s to have a successful career as a playwright and screenwriter for Hollywood.

He was born in the Bronx, New York in 1923 to Russian Jewish parents. He studied at the City College of New York and Fordham University and served in the U.S. Army during World War II, for which he was awarded a Purple Heart. While recovering from injuries sustained in service, he penned the book and lyrics to a musical called No T.O. for Love, which was first produced by the Special Services Unit in 1945, and toured Army bases all over Europe over the next two years. The show was brought to London, where it opened at the Scala Theatre in the West End and marked the beginning of Chayefsky's theatrical career.

His work on Marty, first as a live production for television featuring Rod Steiger in 1953 and then for film two years later, gave him his first major success. The film, starring Ernest Borgnine, won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Chayefsky's work on that and other teleplays inspired comparisons with Arthur Miller, and he received an Academy Award for his work on the screenplay. He focused on screenplays after the success with Marty, with films such as The Goddess (for which he received an Oscar nomination) and The Bachelor Party. In the 1960s his writing credits included The Americanization of Emily, which featured James Garner, and Paint Your Wagon, a screen vehicle for Lee Marvin. He went on to win two more Oscars for his work on The Hospital (1971) and the film for which he is best known, Network, for both of which he also received Golden Globe awards. His last screenplay was based on his novel Altered States, though on the film he was credited under his real first and middle name, Sidney Aaron, because of disputes with the director Ken Russell.

Chayefsky continued to write for the stage as well as the screen until the late 1960's. A theatrical version of Middle of the Night opened on Broadway in 1956 starring Edward G. Robinson and Gena Rowlands. Its success lead to a national tour. The Tenth Man, which opened in 1959, marked Chayefsky's second Broadway success, garnering Tony nominations in 1960 for Best Play, Best Director (Tyrone Guthrie), and Best Scenic Design. Guthrie received another nominiation for Chayefsky's Gideon, as did actor Frederic March. Chayefsky's final Broadway production, a play based on the life of Josef Stalin called The Passion of Josef D was poorly received and ran for only 15 performances.[1]

He is known for his comments during the 1978 Oscar telecast after Vanessa Redgrave made a controversial speech denouncing Zionism while accepting her award for Best Supporting Actress in Julia. Chayefsky made a comment during the program immediately after hers stating that he was upset by her using the event to make an irrelevant political viewpoint during a film award program. He said, "I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple 'Thank you' would have sufficed." He received thunderous applause for his riposte to Redgrave.

Paddy Chayefsky died in New York City of cancer in 1981 at the age of 58, and was interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York.