Richard Brooks

Richard Brooks
Brooks in 1986
Born
Reuben Sax

May 18, 1912
DiedMarch 11, 1992(1992-03-11) (aged 79)
Studio City, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
  • novelist
Spouse(s)
Jean Brooks
(m. 1941; div. 1944)

Harriette Levin
(m. 1946; div. 1957)

Jean Simmons
(m. 1960; div. 1980)
Children1

Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter. He was also a movie director, novelist and film producer. He got eight Oscar nominations. Notable works are Blackboard Jungle (1955), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Elmer Gantry (1960), In Cold Blood (1967) and Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). He won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Elmer Gantry. Brooks worked with Mark Hellinger and Warner Brothers. Later he worked with MGM and worked independently.

Movies

MGM

Credited as both writer and director (unless stated)
  • Crisis (1950)
  • The Light Touch (1951)
  • Deadline – U.S.A. (20th Century Fox, 1952)
  • Battle Circus (1953)
  • Take the High Ground! (1953), only director
  • Flame and the Flesh (1954), only director
  • The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
  • Blackboard Jungle (1955)
  • The Last Hunt (1956)
  • The Catered Affair (1956), only director
  • Something of Value (1957)
  • The Brothers Karamazov (1958)
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Independent producer

Credited as both writer and director
  • Elmer Gantry (Elmer Gantry Productions through United Artists, 1960)
  • Sweet Bird of Youth, (MGM and Roxbury Productions through MGM, 1962)
  • Lord Jim (Columbia and Keep Films through Columbia, 1965)
  • The Professionals (Pax Enterprises through Columbia, 1966)
  • In Cold Blood (Pax Enterprises through Columbia, 1967)
  • The Happy Ending (Pax Enterprises through United Artists, 1969)
  • $ (Frankovich Productions through Columbia, 1971)
  • Bite the Bullet (Persky-Bright Productions/Vista through Columbia, 1975)
  • Looking For Mr. Goodbar (Paramount, 1977)
  • Wrong Is Right (Columbia, 1982)
  • Fever Pitch (MGM, 1985)