Peter Viertel facts for kids

Peter Viertel (born November 16, 1920 – died November 4, 2007) was a talented author and screenwriter. He wrote many books and helped create scripts for famous movies.

Early Life and Family

Peter Viertel was born in Dresden, Germany. His parents, Salka Viertel and Berthold Viertel, were both writers. In 1928, when Peter was young, his family moved to Santa Monica, California. He grew up there with his two brothers, Hans and Thomas.

Their home in Santa Monica was a popular spot for gatherings. Many famous writers and thinkers from Europe, who had moved to Hollywood, would visit. Peter's mother, Salka, often hosted Sunday tea parties. Even though he was around these important European thinkers, Peter felt more connected to the youth culture of Southern California. He once said that while he knew people like Bertolt Brecht were geniuses, they looked "funny" to him compared to what an American kid wanted to be.

Education and War Service

Peter Viertel finished college at Dartmouth College in 1941. After college, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He started with office work, but he wanted to do more. He applied for officer training and was later accepted into the OSS. The OSS was a special group that gathered information during World War II, and it was a bit like an early version of the CIA.

Peter was a great choice for the OSS because he was very smart, spoke German, and was good at sports. He had also already published a successful novel called The Canyon when he was just 19. He had also written screenplays for movies like Saboteur (1942) and The Hard Way (1943). He ended the war as a second lieutenant.

Writing Career

After the war, Peter Viertel used his experiences to write.

Plays and Screenplays

Peter wrote a play called The Survivors with his friend Irwin Shaw. It opened in New York City in 1948. This play was later made into a TV episode and a BBC television movie. His war experiences also helped him write the screenplay for the movie Decision Before Dawn (1951), which was highly praised.

He found it hard to write a novel about his time in the OSS. He worked on it for many years, and a draft was found after he passed away.

Famous Novels

Peter Viertel is best known for his novel White Hunter Black Heart. This book was made into a movie in 1990, starring Clint Eastwood. The story is based on Peter's own experiences working with film director John Huston while they were making the movie The African Queen. In the book, Peter is the character Pete Verrill, and John Huston is called John Wilson.

A famous film critic, Pauline Kael, once said that White Hunter was "still the best Hollywood novel I’ve ever come across." Peter felt that his screenwriting work for Hollywood movies was mostly a way to earn money so he could keep writing his own novels. He worked with directors he liked, such as Billy Wilder and John Huston, but he said there was always some creative tension.

Introducing Surfing to Europe

Peter Viertel is also famous for bringing surfing to Europe! In 1956, he was in Biarritz, France, for the filming of The Sun Also Rises. He was so impressed by the ocean waves there that he had his surfboard sent from California. Soon after, he started Europe's very first surf club.

Personal Life

Peter Viertel was married twice. His first wife was Virginia Ray, also known as "Jigee." They had one child, a daughter named Christine. They later divorced.

His second wife was the famous actress Deborah Kerr. They got married on July 23, 1960. Peter was widowed when Deborah passed away on October 16, 2007. Just 19 days later, on November 4, 2007, Peter himself died from a type of cancer called lymphoma in Marbella, Spain. He was almost 87 years old. Through Deborah, he had two stepdaughters, Melanie and Francesca.

At the time of his death, a documentary film about Peter Viertel was being made. It was called Peter Viertel – Between the Lines and included many hours of interviews with him.

Films

• Saboteur (1942)
• The Hard Way (1943)
• The Search (Draft – uncredited) (1948)
• We Were Strangers (1949)
• Roughshod (Story) (1949)
• The Survivors (Studio One TV series episode) (Story) (1950)
• Decision Before Dawn (1951)
• The African Queen (Uncredited) (1951)
• Beat the Devil (Screenplay collaboration – uncredited) 1953
• The Village (1953)
• The Hard Way (Lux Video Theatre TV series episode) 1957
• The Survivors (TV movie) (with Irwin Shaw) 1957
• The Sun Also Rises (1957)
• The Night Heaven Fell (Uncredited) (1958)
• The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
• Five Miles to Midnight (1962)
• White Hunter Black Heart (1990)

Books

• The Canyon (1940)
• Line of Departure (1947)
• White Hunter Black Heart (1953)
• Love Lies Bleeding (1964)
• Bicycle on the Beach (1971)
• American Skin (1984)
• Dangerous Friends: At Large with Huston and Hemingway in the Fifties (1992)
• Loser Deals (1995)

Play

• The Survivors, (with Irwin Shaw) New York, Playhouse Theatre, January 1948.

See also

In Spanish: Peter Viertel para niños