Edward Anhalt facts for kids

Edward Anhalt (born March 28, 1914 – died September 3, 2000) was a talented American writer for movies and TV. He also worked as a producer and made documentary films. Edward Anhalt won two Academy Awards, which are very famous movie awards. He won for writing the stories of Panic in the Streets (1950) and Becket (1964).

Early Life and Education

Edward Anhalt was born in New York City. He started writing when he was only 15 years old. His first attempt was to change a play by a famous writer named George Bernard Shaw. Shaw didn't like that! After this, Edward went to study at Columbia and Princeton universities.

Edward Anhalt's Career

During World War II, Edward Anhalt joined the Army Air Force. He worked in the First Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California. There, he wrote scripts for training films for the soldiers.

After the war, Edward started writing screenplays for exciting thriller movies. He often worked with his wife, Edna Anhalt. They even used a secret name together, Andrew Holt. Their work caught the attention of Hollywood. So, they moved from New York to Los Angeles. Edward's first movie script was for Strange Voyage in 1946.

Edward and Edna signed a contract with Columbia. They wrote the script for Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1947). Later, they worked at Twentieth Century Fox. There, they won an Academy Award for Best Story for their movie Panic in the Streets (1950). This was a thrilling movie about a city.

The writing team then went back to Columbia. They worked as both writers and producers. They received another Academy Award nomination for their story for the movie The Sniper in 1952.

Edward and Edna also wrote the movie version of The Member of the Wedding (1952). This movie kept the original actors from the stage play. These actors included Julie Harris, Brandon deWilde, and Ethel Waters.

Solo Writing Projects

After his partnership with Edna ended, Edward Anhalt continued to be a very skilled writer. He was known for being fast and good at many types of stories. He wrote the movie script for The Young Lions (1958). This movie was based on a World War II book. He also wrote Wives and Lovers (1963).

Edward Anhalt won his second Academy Award for his script for Becket (1964). This movie was based on a play.

His other movies included Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962), The Boston Strangler (1968), and The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969). He also wrote two films for Ely A. Landau's American Film Theater. These were Luther (1973) and The Man in the Glass Booth (1975). Edward also had big successes with The Satan Bug (1965) and Jeremiah Johnson (1972).

In the 1970s, Edward Anhalt started writing for television again. He received an Emmy nomination for the ABC miniseries QB VII (1974). A few years later, he wrote Contract on Cherry Street (1977) for NBC. He also helped write Madame X (1981) and The Day Christ Died (1982). Edward Anhalt was also a main writer for the NBC miniseries Peter the Great in 1985.

Towards the end of his career, he wrote films like Escape to Athena (1979), Green Ice (1981), The Holcroft Covenant (1985), and The Neon Empire.

Edward Anhalt's Film Roles

Edward Anhalt also appeared in a few movies himself.