Chris Conkling
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Jon Christopher Conkling (born March 31, 1949) is an American writer. He is best known as the co-writer of the screenplay for the animated version of ''
Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'', directed by
Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...
and produced by
Saul Zaentz Saul Zaentz (; February 28, 1921January 3, 2014) was an American film producer and record company executive. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times and, in 1996, was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Zaentz's film p ...
. He has also published articles in ''
BYU Studies ''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted ...
'', the ''
Journal of Book of Mormon Studies The ''Journal of Book of Mormon Studies'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering topics surrounding the Book of Mormon. It is published by the University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scho ...
'' and the ''
Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
'', and wrote the 1979 book ''A Joseph Smith Chronology'' and an award-winning article on Melville's "Bartleby The Scrivener."


Education

Conkling studied at the
University of California, Los Angeles 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 ...
,
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
,
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
.
California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...
, and
California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...
from which he received his teaching credentials.


Career

He wrote six complete scripts in an attempt to find the right approach for Bakshi's version of ''Lord of the Rings''—one covered only a third of the epic, one tried to fit the entire saga into a single film, one tried to cut it in half; one version even focused on a re-telling by Pippin and Merry. There was a good deal of experimentation as to how to approach the enormous saga. Eventually, popular science fiction novelist, Peter S. Beagle, was called in to do some revisions, although Conkling still retained first credit on the final version. ''Lord of the Rings'' was nominated for a
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
. He was also a story consultant for the 1977
BYU Film Studio LDS Motion Picture Studios (MPS) is a film studio based in Provo, Utah, and is a directly-managed division of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The MPS is part of the LDS Church's media production division, which inclu ...
film ''
The Mailbox Mailbox Birmingham (also known as The Mailbox) is a mixed-use development located within the city centre of Birmingham, England. It houses British luxury department store chain Harvey Nichols, and the BBC Birmingham studios. The scheme compr ...
'' and wrote ''The Emmitt Smith Story'' for BYU. He also wrote several management videos which appeared on PBS, and was also a writer for ABC's television series ''
The Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterpa ...
''. Conkling has taught a variety of courses at the
American Jewish University American Jewish University (AJU), formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish institution in Los Angeles, California. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in w ...
in
Bel-Air, California Bel Air (or Bel-Air) is a residential neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Founded in 1923, it is the home of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden and the American Jewish Universit ...
. Prior to this he worked in advertising and public relations for several oil companies and Pool/Sarraille Advertising of Beverly Hills. He also wrote a paper entitled "The Dark Ages: The L.D.S. Church and Japan, 1924-1948" which is held by the Church History Archives and has been used as a source for published work by R. Lanier Britsch. At AJU Chris Conkling created courses in literature of utopia and literature of evil, taught ancient Greek and Roman literature, and was faculty advisor for several years on the student newspaper. He currently works as a 12th grade English teacher and creative writing teacher at Sylmar High School's Math/Science Magnet, in Sylmar, Ca.Lausd.k12.ca.us
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Personal life

Conkling is a Latter-day Saint. Conkling and his wife Robin are the parents of six children. His mother was in the singing quartet The King Sisters, who had a weekly ABC television musical in the mid-sixties, called The King Family. His father, James Conkling, was a record executive, who became Capitol Record's first vice president, then president of Columbia Records, and founder and first president of Warner Bros. Records. He also helped to found the Grammy Awards where he became the Grammy's first national chairman. Conkling's entire family is rather accomplished. One cousin was musical director for the Sonny and Cher show, another the voice of Leonardo on "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" for a decade, another was the female lead on the long-running TV program "My Three Sons" and yet another several created the signingtimes sign language videos. One sister, Jamie Miller, has published a half dozen books and another is married to a top Yankee Scout. One Uncle, big band leader and guitar virtuoso Alvino Rey, was the first inductee into the steel guitar hall of fame, another, Bob Clarke, produced and starred in such "B" monster movies as "The Hideous Sun Demon" and "Man from the Planet X," another, Bill Burch, was a Universal Studio executive and longtime protegee of Gene Autry. Among his second cousins is the wife of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and the founders of the alternative rock band "The Arcade Fire."


Notes


External links

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Maxwell Institute bioLDS booklovers listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conkling, Chris 1949 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Latter Day Saints from California American male screenwriters American television writers Brigham Young University alumni California State University, Dominguez Hills alumni Dartmouth College alumni Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni Screenwriters from California King family (show business)