Max Wilk
Encyclopedia
Max Wilk was an American playwright, screenwriter and author of fiction and nonfiction book.
Formerly a resident of Ridgefield
, Connecticut
, he moved to Westport, Connecticut
, where lived until his death February 19, 2011, at age 90. In all, Wilk was the author of 19 books, four films, three produced plays as well as many TV shows and magazine articles.
of the United States Army Air Forces
.
In the 1960s, he wrote the novelization
of The Beatles
' cartoon Yellow Submarine. His fiction includes Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River; the movie version
starred Jerry Lewis
and shifted the locale from "Green Haven" (based on Ridgefield) to London, England.
On the original bookjacket is the warning:
In the '90s, he published a coffee table book
tracing the origins of the musical Oklahoma!
Later he wrote Schmucks with Underwoods--Conversations with Hollywood's Classic Screenwriters.
For decades Mr. Wilk was a dramaturg for playwrights at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwright's Conference under the leadership of Lloyd Richards.
Formerly a resident of Ridgefield
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, he moved to Westport, Connecticut
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
, where lived until his death February 19, 2011, at age 90. In all, Wilk was the author of 19 books, four films, three produced plays as well as many TV shows and magazine articles.
Biography
During World War II he served in the First Motion Picture UnitFirst Motion Picture Unit
The First Motion Picture Unit was the first unit of the United States Military to be made up entirely of motion picture personnel. It was also the title of a 1943 documentary about the unit.-Organization:...
of the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
.
In the 1960s, he wrote the novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' cartoon Yellow Submarine. His fiction includes Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River; the movie version
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River is a British made comedy film produced by Walter Shenson starring Jerry Lewis and was released on July 12, 1968 by Columbia Pictures. It was based on Max Wilk's novel of the same name with the original Connecticut locale moved to Swinging London and...
starred Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
and shifted the locale from "Green Haven" (based on Ridgefield) to London, England.
On the original bookjacket is the warning:
- While the locale of this book is Connecticut, it has nothing of importance to say about Suburbia, Exurbia, the Exploding Metropolis, or the stifling wave of Middle Class Conformity which, it is augured, will soon engulf the whole of Fairfield County.
In the '90s, he published a coffee table book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
tracing the origins of the musical Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
Later he wrote Schmucks with Underwoods--Conversations with Hollywood's Classic Screenwriters.
For decades Mr. Wilk was a dramaturg for playwrights at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwright's Conference under the leadership of Lloyd Richards.
Books
- The Sound of Music: The Making of Rodger and Hammerstein's Classic Musical, Routledge (2006), ISBN 0-415-97934-X
- OK! The Story Of Oklahoma!: A Celebration of America's Most Beloved Musical, 292 pages, Applause Books; (2002) ISBN 1-55783-555-1
- Schmucks with Underwoods: Conversations with America's Classic Screenwriters,, 338 pages, Applause Books (2004), ISBN 1-55783-508-X
- The Golden Age of Television: Notes from the Survivors, 274 pages, Delacorte Press (1976) ISBN 0-440-02950-3(Paperback: Truck Press; 3rd edition, 1999, ISBN 0-916562-49-2)
- Overture and Finale: Rodgers & Hammerstein and the Creation of Their Two Greatest Hits (Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music) Paperback: 192 pages, Watson-Guptill Publications (April 1999) ISBN 0-8230-8820-0
- American Treasure Hunt: The Legacy of Israel Sack co-author, Harold Sack, 270 pages, Little Brown & Co (November 1986), ISBN 0-316-76593-7
- A Tough ACT to Follow, co-author, Jim Connor, 346 pages, Norton (January 1986) ISBN 0-393-02219-6(paperback, PaperJacks (1988) ISBN 0-7701-0736-2)
- And Did You Once See Sydney Plain?: A Random Memoir of S.J. Perelman, 83 pages, Norton (1986), ISBN 0-393-02343-5
- Get Out and Get Under, 317 pages, Norton (1981), ISBN 0-393-01425-8
- Represented by Audrey Wood: A Memoir, (co-writer with Audrey Wood) Doubleday: Garden City, NY (1981), ISBN 9780385152013
- The Moving Picture Boys, 287 pages, Norton (1978), ISBN 0-393-08814-6
- Every Day's a Matinee: Memoirs Scribbled on a Dressing Room Door, 288 pages, Norton (1975) ISBN 0-393-07491-9
- They're Playing Our Song: The Truth Behind the Words and Music of Three Generations 295 pages, Atheneum (1973), ISBN 0-689-10554-1
- Memory lane, 1890 to 1925: Ragtime, Jazz, Foxtrot and Other Popular Music and Music Covers, 88 pages, Studioart (1973), ISBN 0-902063-13-8
- The Wit and Wisdom of Hollywood: From the Squaw Man to the Hatchet Man, (compiler) Scribner (1971) ISBN 0-689-10370-0
- The Beard, a novel, Simon and Schuster, (1965) LCCN 65-23246
- Cloud Seven,: A Comedy, 84 pages, Dramatists Play Service, (1958) ASIN: B0007E1WQK (Note: NOT an ISBN)
- Yellow Submarine novelization (1960s)
- Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
Plays
According to the "Internet Broadway DataBase":- Mr. Williams and Miss Wood: A two-character play, 42 pages, Dramatists Playservice (1990), ASIN: B0006EYAJW (Note: NOT an ISBN). This tribute to Audrey Wood and Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
received staged readings at the National Playwrights Conference of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and New Dramatists in 1989 - A Musical Jubilee (Musical, Revue) ran November 13, 1975-February 1, 1976
- Cloud 7 (Comedy) ran February 14, 1958-February 22, 1958
- Small Wonder (Musical, Revue) book by Wilk, ran September 15, 1948-January 8, 1949
External links
- "When Connecticut was Cool," by Christopher Arnott, article in the New Haven Advocate, July 29, 2004
- "The Yale of My Day: New Haven On-Stage," article by Max Wilk '41, Yale Alumni Magazine, March 1997
- http://www.playbill.com/news/article/148002-Max-Wilk-Playwright-Showbiz-Journalist-and-ONeill-Center-Dramaturg-Dead-at-90