A former Time magazine correspondent, Frank Pierson began his screen career as a story editor (and later producer-director) on the popular CBS TV series "Have Gun Will Travel" in the early 1960s. He also wrote for "Studio One", "Alcoa Goodyear Theater", "Route 66" and "Naked City" during the so-called 'Golden Age of Television'.
Pierson's first feature screenplay as co-writer was for "Cat Ballou" (1965) which earned him an Oscar nomination, and he won the award for his finely observed solo script for Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975). Other collaborations includes the classic individual-against-the-unjust-prison-system drama, "Cool Hand Luke" (1967, which also netted him an Oscar nod), as well as adaptations of Scott Turow's bestseller "Presumed Innocent" (1990) and Bobbie Ann Mason's novel "In Country" (1989).
Pierson made his feature directorial debut with "The Looking Glass War" (1970) and subsequently helmed the 1976 Barbra Streisand-Kris Kristofferson remake of "A Star Is Born" as well as "King of the Gypsies" (1978), all of which he also scripted.
In the 90s, Pierson found a home on the small screen, helming a series of well-reviewed, award-winning cable films ranging from biopics (1992's "Citizen Cohn" and 1995's "Truman", both for HBO) as well the First Amendment drama "Dirty Pictures" (Showtime, 2000). In 2001, he earned acclaim for "Conspiracy" (HBO), the talky but highly dramatic re-enactment of the secret Wannsee meeting that led to the Nazi plan for the extermination of all Jews in Europe. Later that year, Pierson was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a position he held for the maximum four consecutive terms.
- Also Credited As:
Frank R. Pierson, Frank Romer Pierson
- Born:
May 12, 1925 in Chappaqua, New York, USA
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Job Titles:
Screenwriter, Director, Producer, Journalist
Family
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Daughter: Eve Pierson.
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Father: Harold C Pierson.
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Mother: Louise Pierson.
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Son: Michael Pierson.
Education
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Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1950
Milestones
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1943 Served with US Army
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1962 Entered show business as story editor of TV series Have Gun Will Travel (CBS); later served as producer and director for the show
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1965 Co-wrote first produced screenplay, Cat Ballou ; received first Oscar nomination
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1967 Contributed to the script for Cool Hand Luke ; shared Academy Award nomination
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1970 Directed first feature, The Looking Glass War ; also wrote screenplay
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1971 Directed the award-winning NBC TV-movie Neon Ceiling
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1975 Won Oscar for solo screenwriting effort, Dog Day Afternoon
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1976 Collaborated on the screenplay and directed the Barbra Streisand vehicle A Star Is Born
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1978 Penned screenply adaptation and directed King of the Gypsies
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1980 Wrote the teleplay for the above average CBS TV biopic Haywire , based on the memoirs of Brooke Hayward, the daughter of agent Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan
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1989 Returned to features as collaborator on the screenplay for the Vietnam-era drama In Country
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1990 Collaborated with director Alan J. Pakula on the script for Presumed Innocent , the feature based on Scott Turow s best-selling novel
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1990 Directed the HBO movie Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture
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1992 Helmed the acclaimed HBO biopic Citizen Cohn , starring James Woods; received Emmy nomination
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1994 Directed the TNT original Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee
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1995 Was director of the highly-praised HBO biographical drama Truman , starring Gary Sinise
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2000 Reteamed with James Woods on the docudrama Dirty Pictures (Showtime), about the famed incident wherein the director of the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center booked an exhibition of controversial photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe and was then indicted for indecency
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2001 Elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; held position for the maximum four consecutive terms
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2001 Garnered Emmy nomination for direction of Conspiracy (HBO), a docudrama about the Wanasee Conference wherein the Nazis outlined The Final Solution
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Announced as writer and director of The Last of the Savages ; in development as of summer 2001
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Was correspondent for Time and Life magazines