Colin Higgins (28 July 1941 – 5 August 1988) was an Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director, and producer. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film ''

Harold and Maude ''Harold and Maude'' is a 1971 American romantic black comedy–drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chasen ...

'', and for directing the films '' Foul Play'' (1978) and ''

9 to 5 Working(laboring) time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countries regula ...

'' (1980).

Life and career

Early life

Higgins was born in Nouméa,

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, France, to an Australian mother, Joy (Kelly), and American father, John Edward Higgins, one of six sons. Higgins' father enlisted in the army following the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, 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. After moving to

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, Higgins attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

for a year, but then lost his scholarship because he became "obsessed" with theatre. He moved to New York and hung around the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

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 U.S. Army, where he was sent to Germany and worked for '' Stars and Stripes'' newspaper. Higgins was discharged in 1965, spent six months in Europe, mostly in Paris, then returned to

to study a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing. Higgins later said, "after I had traveled and worked for a while I was anxious to study for the sake of studying. I took courses for what they were, not so that I could sleep in." While at college Higgins supported himself as an actor, playing in small theatre productions, including acting in a sex farce called ''

Once Over Nightly ''Once Over Nightly'' is a sex comedy play. It ran for over two years in San Francisco.J ...

'' for a year and a half. He wrote a play ''Once Around the Quad'' which was performed at Stanford after he left.

Hollywood

After Higgins graduated from Stanford he got a job as an able-bodied seaman "because I wanted to see the Orient. It didn't take me long to realize that the days of

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

and

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

were over. There was no work and too many people to do it." He visited

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

in Montreal and was inspired by the film exhibits there and decided to learn about film. He began working on a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in screenwriting at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where his classmates included

Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...

. While there he made two short films, ''Opus One'' (1968), a satire on student films, and ''Retreat'', an anti-war statement. His M.F.A. thesis would serve as the basis for ''

'' (1971).

''Harold and Maude''

After graduating he went to work for a wealthy family in Los Angeles as a part-time chauffeur and pool cleaner in exchange for free accommodation, where he met film producer

Ed Lewis Edward Lewis may refer to: Politicians *Edward Lewis (Devizes MP) (1650–1674), British MP for Devizes, 1669–1674 *Edward Lewis (Radnor MP), British MP for Radnor, 1761–1768, 1769–1774 and 1775–1790 *Edward Parke Custis Lewis (1837–1892 ...

. Higgins showed a draft of ''Harold and Maude'' to Lewis, who then showed it to Robert Evans at Paramount. Higgins wanted to direct the script himself and was allowed to shoot a director's test for $7,000 but Paramount was 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 also wrote a TV movie, ''The Distributor'', which was not made, and a feature film script, ''Killing Lydia'', which would later become the basis for his 1978 film '' Foul Play''. He then received an offer from

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundia ...

in Paris to turn ''Harold and Maude'' into a play for French actor

Madeleine Renaud Lucie Madeleine Renaud (; 21 February 1900 – 23 September 1994) was a French actress best remembered for her work in the theatre. She did though appear in several films directed by Jean Grémillon including ''Remorques'' (''Stormy Waters'' ...

. Higgins did so, working on the French translation with

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorary ...

, and the play ran for seven years. The film of ''Harold and Maude'' continued to run in cinemas around the world, where by 1983 it was in profit. (The same year it was estimated Higgins had earned $1 million from his script and productions of the play.) 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, London and New York. The producers of ''The Devil's Daughter'' hired Higgins to write a Hitchcock-style thriller. This became '' Silver Streak'' (1976), which was a hit under the direction of

Arthur Hiller Arthur Hiller, (November 22, 1923 – August 17, 2016) was a Canadian-American television and film director with over 33 films to his credit during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By t ...

. Higgins later said if he had directed it he would have been "a bit less faithful to the writer; I would have slashed away."

Director

The success of ''Silver Streak'' enabled Higgins to revive his earlier script, '' Foul Play'' (1978), and direct the film himself. It was enormously popular at the box office and launched his directing career. He was writing a comedy-thriller, ''The Man Who Lost Tuesday'' when he received an offer to re-write and direct ''

'' (1980). It was a big hit, as was the musical '' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1982), which Higgins directed. He was meant to follow it with ''The Man Who Lost Tuesday'' but Paramount felt the budget was too high and passed. In 1985, he was working on a project with playwright Jonathan Reynolds. In 1986, he was reportedly writing a script, ''Washington Girls'', as a vehicle to reunite Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. His last credit was a TV movie, ''Out on a Limb'' (1987), which he co-wrote and co-produced.

Legacy and Death

Higgins, who was openly gay, died of an AIDS-related illness at his home on August 5, 1988 at the age of 47. The Colin Higgins Foundation was established in 1986 to provide support for gay and transgender youth. It was established by Higgins following his diagnosis with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

in 1985. His writing is said to have inspired filmmakers like Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Wes Anderson and Paul Feig. His brother is Australian actor John Higgins.

Filmography

Film

Actor

Unmade screenplays

*''The Man Who Lost Tuesday'' – a comedy thriller set in Paris *''First Lady'' – a satire on politics to star

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the vari ...

Theatre

*''Harold and Maude'' (1972) *'' The Ik'' (1975)

References

External links

The Colin Higgins Foundation
* * * *
Finding aid for the Colin Higgins Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Colin 1941 births 1988 deaths People from Nouméa AIDS-related deaths in California American male film actors American film producers American film directors American male screenwriters American people of Australian descent American gay actors American gay writers LGBT screenwriters LGBT film directors Stanford University alumni UCLA Film School alumni 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century LGBT people