David Zelag Goodman
Encyclopedia
David Zelag Goodman was a playwright and screenwriter for both TV and film. His most prolific period was from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Lovers and Other Strangers, though he did not win. He co-wrote, with Sam Peckinpah
, the screenplay for 1971's controversial Straw Dogs. He died less than two weeks after the remake
was released. Other films that he wrote or co-wrote included Logan's Run
,'Monte Walsh
, and Farewell My Lovely. He also wrote a number of the episodes of the Untouchables in the early 1960s.
Born in Manhattan
, he majored in English at Queens College, then studied at Yale Drama School in 1958. At age 24, his play, High Named Today, which was to have starred Jane Wyatt
on Broadway, ended up running briefly Off Broadway in February 1954.. He was often sought as as a "script doctor" because he could quickly identify screenplay flaws, as when Sherry Lansing
brought him in to work on the thriller Fatal Attraction. According to his friend, the film and television producer Zev Braun
, Goodman said to Lansing of the Glenn Close character: "You can't let her off the hook. You should kill her. Let's drown her!"
Until his death, he was married for 61 years to Marjorie Goodman. Their daughter Kevis Goodman is an associate professor of English at UC Berkeley.
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
, the screenplay for 1971's controversial Straw Dogs. He died less than two weeks after the remake
Straw Dogs (2011 film)
Straw Dogs is a 2011 American thriller film directed, produced, and written by Rod Lurie. It is a remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 film of the same name, itself based on the Gordon Williams novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm.-Plot:...
was released. Other films that he wrote or co-wrote included Logan's Run
Logan's Run
Logan's Run is a novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, it depicts a dystopic ageist future society in which both population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by requiring the death of everyone reaching a particular age...
,'Monte Walsh
Monte Walsh
Monte Walsh is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by Jack Schaefer. The movie has little to do with the plot of Schaefer's book. It was directed in 1970 by cinematographer William A. Fraker in his directorial debut, and starred Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Palance. The movie was set...
, and Farewell My Lovely. He also wrote a number of the episodes of the Untouchables in the early 1960s.
Born in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, he majored in English at Queens College, then studied at Yale Drama School in 1958. At age 24, his play, High Named Today, which was to have starred Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt
Jane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
on Broadway, ended up running briefly Off Broadway in February 1954.. He was often sought as as a "script doctor" because he could quickly identify screenplay flaws, as when Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing is a former actress and American film studio executive. She is former CEO of Paramount Pictures, and when president of production at 20th Century Fox was the first woman to head a Hollywood studio In 1996, she became the first woman named Pioneer of the Year by the Foundation of...
brought him in to work on the thriller Fatal Attraction. According to his friend, the film and television producer Zev Braun
Zev Braun
Zev Braun is an American motion picture producer. Though much of his work is in television he has been a successful filmmaker since the early 1960s and continues to produce films for the big screen.Braun's interest in filmmaking led him fresh from studying Humanities and...
, Goodman said to Lansing of the Glenn Close character: "You can't let her off the hook. You should kill her. Let's drown her!"
Until his death, he was married for 61 years to Marjorie Goodman. Their daughter Kevis Goodman is an associate professor of English at UC Berkeley.
Partial filmography
- The Stranglers of BombayThe Stranglers of BombayThe Stranglers of Bombay is a 1959 adventure/horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Films dealing with the British East India Company's investigation of the Cult of Thuggee stranglers in the 1830s...
(1960) - Lovers and Other StrangersLovers and Other StrangersLovers and Other Strangers is a 1970 comedy film based on the play by Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna. The film features an ensemble cast including Richard Castellano, Gig Young, Cloris Leachman, Anne Jackson, Beatrice Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Brandon, Harry Guardino, Anne Meara, Bob Dishy,...
(1970 - co-screenplay) - Monte WalshMonte WalshMonte Walsh is taken from the title of a 1963 western novel by Jack Schaefer. The movie has little to do with the plot of Schaefer's book. It was directed in 1970 by cinematographer William A. Fraker in his directorial debut, and starred Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Palance. The movie was set...
(1970 - co-screenplay) - Straw Dogs (1971 - co-screenplay)
- Man on a Swing (1974)
- Farewell, My LovelyFarewell, My LovelyFarewell, My Lovely is a 1940 novel by Raymond Chandler, the second novel he wrote featuring Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times.-Plot summary:...
(1975) - Logan's RunLogan's RunLogan's Run is a novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, it depicts a dystopic ageist future society in which both population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by requiring the death of everyone reaching a particular age...
(1976) - March or DieMarch or Die (film)March or Die is a 1977 film directed by Dick Richards, starring Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Catherine Deneuve and Ian Holm.The film celebrates the 1920s French Foreign Legion...
(1977 - co-story & co-screenplay) - Eyes of Laura MarsEyes of Laura MarsEyes of Laura Mars is a 1978 thriller film starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones and directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, adapted from a spec script titled Eyes, written by John Carpenter, was Carpenter's first major studio film...
(1978 - co-screenplay) - Fighting Back (1982 - co-screenplay)
- Man, Woman and ChildMan, Woman and ChildMan, Woman and Child is a novel by Erich Segal. It details the lives of Robert and Sheila Beckwith and their daughters Jessica and Paula.- Synopsis :...
(1983 - co-screenplay)