Charles Kaufman (screenwriter)


Charles Kaufman was an American novelist, writer, and screenwriter.

Biography

Kaufman was a short story writer for The New Yorker. As a teenager, books by Joseph Conrad inspired Kaufman to go to sea. At the age of sixteen, he signed on a freighter going to Turk's Island. He later worked as a bellboy on an ocean liner sailing to Bremen. His experiences in World War II led to a career as a screenwriter. His screenplay for the 1958 film The Story of Esther Costello was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay. Along with Wolfgang Reinhart he was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Screenplay in 1962 for the film Freud: The Secret Passion.
In 2010, Let There Be Light, whose screenplay Kaufman wrote with John Huston, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." This documentary film about the treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder of soldiers returning from World War II has been described as one of the most groundbreaking and acclaimed government films.
Kaufman was the author of three published books: Fiesta in Manhattan, After the Dream, and the children's book The Frog and the Beanpole.
Kaufman died of pneumonia in Los Angeles in 1991.

Selected works

Novels

Fiesta in Manhattan After the Dream
  • ''The Frog and the Beanpole''

Screenplays

Saturday's Heroes Breakfast for Two Maid's Night Out The Saint in New York Blond Cheat Exposed When Tomorrow Comes Model Wife Paris Calling Let There Be Light Cynthia Return to Paradise The Racers The Story of Esther Costello South Seas Adventure Bridge to the Sun