Colin Higgins
Encyclopedia
Colin Higgins was an Australian-American
screenwriter
, actor
, director
, and producer
. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film Harold and Maude
. and for directing the films Foul Play
(1978) and Nine to Five
(1980).
, New Caledonia
to an Australia
n mother and American father. Higgins’ father enlisted in the army following the attack on Pearl Harbour, and his mother returned to her home in Sydney with Colin and his elder brother. Apart from a brief stint in San Francisco in 1945, Higgins lived in Sydney until 1957, mostly in the suburb of Hunters Hill, attending school at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview.
, California
, Higgins attended Stanford University
for a year, but then lost his scholarship "because I became so obsessed with theatre". He moved to New York and hung around the Actors Studio
but could not find work, so he became a page at the ABC television studios. He lost hope at becoming an actor and enlisted in the US Army, where he was sent to Germany and worked for Stars and Stripes newspaper. He was discharged in 1965, spent six months in Europe, mostly in Paris, then returned to Stanford University
to study a BA in Creative Writing. While at college he supported himself as an actor, playing in small theatre productions, including acting in a sex farce called Once over Nightly for a year an a half. He then did a M.F.A.
in screenwriting at UCLA, where his classmates included Paul Schrader
. While there he made two short films, Opus One, a satire on student films, and Retreat, an anti-war statement. His M.F.A. thesis
would serve as the basis for Harold and Maude
(1971).
After graduating he went to work for a rich man and his wife in Los Angeles as a part-time chauffeur and pool cleaner in exchange for free accommodation. The man was a film producer, Ed Lewis; Higgins showed a draft of Harold and Maude to him, and he showed it to Robert Evans
at Paramount. Higgins wanted to direct the script himself and was allowed to do shoot a director's test for $7,000 but Paramount were not sufficiently impressed, and Hal Ashby
was hired. Higgins collaborated well with Ashby and both were pleased with the final film, but it was not a large box-office success on original release.
Higgins got an offer to write a Movie of the Week for TV, The Devil's Daughter
(1972), which he later described as "just a job". He then received an offer from Jean-Louis Barrault
in Paris to turn Harold and Maude into a play for French actor Madeleine Renaud
. Higgins did so, working on the French translation with Jean-Claude Carriere
, and the play ran for seven years.
While in Paris, Higgins met theatre director Peter Brook
and worked with him as playwright-in-residence for his company. They did a play about mountain people in Uganda
called The Ik which ran in Paris and London.
Higgins then wrote the script for the thriller Silver Streak (1976), which became a big hit under the direction of Arthur Hiller
. (Higgins later said if he had directed it "I would have been a bit less faithful to the writer; I would have slashed away.") The success of this enabled him to turn director with Foul Play
(1978). He then wrote and directed Nine to Five
(1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
(1982).
In 1986, Higgins established the Colin Higgins Foundation in order to further his humanitarian goals. He died of AIDS
at his home on August 5, 1988 and was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
.
His brother is Australian actor, John Higgins
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...
. and for directing the films Foul Play
Foul Play
Foul Play is a 1978 American comic mystery/thriller film written and directed by Colin Higgins. In it, a recently divorced librarian is drawn into a mystery when a stranger hides a roll of film in a pack of cigarettes and gives it to her for safekeeping....
(1978) and Nine to Five
Nine to Five
9 to 5 is a 1980 American comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman. The film concerns three working women living out their fantasy of getting even with, and their successful overthrow of, the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical...
(1980).
Biography
Higgins was born in NouméaNouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
to an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n mother and American father. Higgins’ father enlisted in the army following the attack on Pearl Harbour, and his mother returned to her home in Sydney with Colin and his elder brother. Apart from a brief stint in San Francisco in 1945, Higgins lived in Sydney until 1957, mostly in the suburb of Hunters Hill, attending school at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview.
Harold and Maude
After moving to RedwoodRedwood
-Trees:Conifers* Family Cupressaceae *** Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood**** Albino redwood*** Sequoiadendron giganteum - giant sequoia*** Metasequoia glyptostroboides - dawn redwood* Family Pinaceae...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Higgins attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
for a year, but then lost his scholarship "because I became so obsessed with theatre". He moved to New York and hung around the Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
but could not find work, so he became a page at the ABC television studios. He lost hope at becoming an actor and enlisted in the US Army, where he was sent to Germany and worked for Stars and Stripes newspaper. He was discharged in 1965, spent six months in Europe, mostly in Paris, then returned to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
to study a BA in Creative Writing. While at college he supported himself as an actor, playing in small theatre productions, including acting in a sex farce called Once over Nightly for a year an a half. He then did a M.F.A.
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in screenwriting at UCLA, where his classmates included Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
. While there he made two short films, Opus One, a satire on student films, and Retreat, an anti-war statement. His M.F.A. thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
would serve as the basis for Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...
(1971).
After graduating he went to work for a rich man and his wife in Los Angeles as a part-time chauffeur and pool cleaner in exchange for free accommodation. The man was a film producer, Ed Lewis; Higgins showed a draft of Harold and Maude to him, and he showed it to Robert Evans
Robert Evans
Robert Evans may refer to:*Bob Evans , American football and basketball coach*Robert Harding Evans*Robert Wilson Evans, archdeacon and author*Bob Evans , Welsh international football goalkeeper...
at Paramount. Higgins wanted to direct the script himself and was allowed to do shoot a director's test for $7,000 but Paramount were not sufficiently impressed, and Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby was an American film director and film editor.-Birth and early years:Born William Hal Ashby in Ogden, Utah, Ashby grew up in a Mormon household and had a tumultuous childhood as part of a dysfunctional family which included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide and his...
was hired. Higgins collaborated well with Ashby and both were pleased with the final film, but it was not a large box-office success on original release.
Higgins got an offer to write a Movie of the Week for TV, The Devil's Daughter
The Devil's Daughter
The Devil's Daughter can refer to the following:* An alias of the fictional character Satana * The Devil's Daughter , a 1915 film starring Theda Bara...
(1972), which he later described as "just a job". He then received an offer from Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
in Paris to turn Harold and Maude into a play for French actor Madeleine Renaud
Madeleine Renaud
Madeleine Renaud was a distinguished actress and a major figure in French theater in the 20th century. She was born Lucie Madeleine Renaud in Paris and died there, aged 94, in 1994....
. Higgins did so, working on the French translation with Jean-Claude Carriere
Jean-Claude Carrière
Jean-Claude Carrière is a screenwriter and actor. Alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud, he was a frequent collaborator with Luis Buñuel...
, and the play ran for seven years.
While in Paris, Higgins met theatre director Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
and worked with him as playwright-in-residence for his company. They did a play about mountain people in Uganda
Ik people
The Ik are an ethnic group numbering about 10,000 people living in the mountains of northeastern Uganda near the border with Kenya, next to the more populous Karamojong and Turkana peoples. The Ik were displaced from their land to create a national park and consequently suffered extreme famine...
called The Ik which ran in Paris and London.
Higgins then wrote the script for the thriller Silver Streak (1976), which became a big hit under the direction of Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, OC is a Canadian film director. His filmography includes 33 major studio releases, including the 1970 film Love Story...
. (Higgins later said if he had directed it "I would have been a bit less faithful to the writer; I would have slashed away.") The success of this enabled him to turn director with Foul Play
Foul Play
Foul Play is a 1978 American comic mystery/thriller film written and directed by Colin Higgins. In it, a recently divorced librarian is drawn into a mystery when a stranger hides a roll of film in a pack of cigarettes and gives it to her for safekeeping....
(1978). He then wrote and directed Nine to Five
Nine to Five
9 to 5 is a 1980 American comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman. The film concerns three working women living out their fantasy of getting even with, and their successful overthrow of, the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical...
(1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (film)
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a 1982 film adaptation of the musical of the same name released by Universal Pictures, which was co-written and directed by Colin Higgins...
(1982).
In 1986, Higgins established the Colin Higgins Foundation in order to further his humanitarian goals. He died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
at his home on August 5, 1988 and was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, California.The cemetery has a special section called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for a number of aviation pioneers — barnstormers, daredevils and...
.
His brother is Australian actor, John Higgins
John Higgins
John Higgins MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player and the reigning World Champion. With four world titles in all he is fourth overall in the modern era, behind Stephen Hendry , Steve Davis and Ray Reardon...
.
Director
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Foul Play Foul Play Foul Play is a 1978 American comic mystery/thriller film written and directed by Colin Higgins. In it, a recently divorced librarian is drawn into a mystery when a stranger hides a roll of film in a pack of cigarettes and gives it to her for safekeeping.... |
| 1980 | Nine to Five Nine to Five 9 to 5 is a 1980 American comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman. The film concerns three working women living out their fantasy of getting even with, and their successful overthrow of, the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical... |
| 1982 | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (film) The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a 1982 film adaptation of the musical of the same name released by Universal Pictures, which was co-written and directed by Colin Higgins... |
Writer
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1971 | Harold and Maude Harold and Maude Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold... |
| 1973 | The Devil's Daughter |
| 1976 | Silver Streak |
| 1978 | Foul Play Foul Play Foul Play is a 1978 American comic mystery/thriller film written and directed by Colin Higgins. In it, a recently divorced librarian is drawn into a mystery when a stranger hides a roll of film in a pack of cigarettes and gives it to her for safekeeping.... |
| 1980 | Nine to Five Nine to Five 9 to 5 is a 1980 American comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman. The film concerns three working women living out their fantasy of getting even with, and their successful overthrow of, the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical... |
| 1982 | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (film) The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a 1982 film adaptation of the musical of the same name released by Universal Pictures, which was co-written and directed by Colin Higgins... |
| 1987 | Out on a Limb (TV) |
Producer
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1971 | Harold and Maude Harold and Maude Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold... |
| 1987 | Out on a Limb (TV) |
Actor
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1985 | Into the Night |