Darryl Ponicsan
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Darryl Ponicsan (; born May 26, 1938) is an American writer. He is best known as the author of the 1970 novel ''The Last Detail,'' which was adapted into a 1973 film starring
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
. A sequel, ''
Last Flag Flying ''Last Flag Flying'' is a 2017 American war comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater with a screenplay by Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, based upon the latter's 2005 novel of the same name. It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Lauren ...
'', based on his 2005 novel of the same name, was released in 2017 and he also co-wrote the screenplay with Richard Linklater. He also wrote the 1973 novel and screenplay ''
Cinderella Liberty ''Cinderella Liberty'' is a 1973 American drama film adapted by Daryl Ponicsan from his 1973 novel of the same title. The film tells the story of a sailor who falls in love with a prostitute and becomes a surrogate father for her 10-year-old mix ...
,'' starring
James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Suppo ...
. Ponicsan writes mystery novels under the pen name Anne Argula.


Life and career

Ponicsan was born in Shenandoah,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, the son of Anne (née Kuleck) and Frank G. Ponicsan, a merchant. He attended
Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German patriarch of Luthe ...
, (
A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
, 1959) and
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, (
M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
, 1965). He was a high school English teacher in Owego, New York, 1959–62, He served in the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
from 1962 to 1965 aboard the USS ''Monrovia'' and USS ''Intrepid'',''The Last Detail'' Ponicsán, Darryl Hachette UK, 28 Sep. 2017 was a social worker for Los Angeles County,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
in 1965, and a high school English teacher in
La Cañada, California LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
from 1966 to 1969. Ponicsan also wrote the screenplays for the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
movie ''A Girl Called Hatter Fox'' (1977), the movies '' Nuts'' (1987), ''
School Ties ''School Ties'' is a 1992 American drama film directed by Robert Mandel and starring Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, Randall Batinkoff, Andrew Lowery, Cole Hauser, Ben Affleck, and Anthony Rapp. Fraser plays the lead role as David ...
'' (1992), the HBO movie ''The Enemy Within'' (1992), and the CBS series ''The Mississippi'' (1983). He has worked frequently with producer-director
Harold Becker Harold Becker (born September 25, 1928) is an American film and television director, producer, and photographer from New York City, associated with the New Hollywood movement and best known for his work in the thriller genre. His body of work ...
, penning scripts for '' Taps'' (1981), ''
Vision Quest A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. It is usually only undertaken by young males entering adulthood. Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English ...
'' (1985), and ''
The Boost ''The Boost'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Harold Becker and based on the book '' Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream '' by Ben Stein. It stars James Woods, Sean Young, John Kapelos, Steven Hill, June Chandler and Amanda Blake ...
'' (1988).


Bibliography

* ''The Last Detail'' (New York: Dial Press, 1970) * ''Goldengrove'' (New York: Dial Press, 1971) * ''Andoshen, Pa.'' (New York: Dial Press, 1973) * ''
Cinderella Liberty ''Cinderella Liberty'' is a 1973 American drama film adapted by Daryl Ponicsan from his 1973 novel of the same title. The film tells the story of a sailor who falls in love with a prostitute and becomes a surrogate father for her 10-year-old mix ...
'' (New York: Harper and Row, 1973) * ''Tom Mix Died for Your Sins'' (New York: Delacorte Press 1975) * ''The Accomplice'' (New York: Harper and Row, 1975) * ''The Ringmaster'' (New York: Delacorte Press, 1978) * ''An Unmarried Man'' (New York: Delacorte Press 1980) * ''
Last Flag Flying ''Last Flag Flying'' is a 2017 American war comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater with a screenplay by Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, based upon the latter's 2005 novel of the same name. It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Lauren ...
'' (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2005) * ''Homicide My Own'' (as Anne Argula) (New York: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2005) * ''Walla Walla Suite: A Room with No View'' (as Anne Argula) (New York: Ballantine, 2007) * '' Krapp's Last Cassette'' (as Anne Argula) (Ballantine, 2009) f._''Krapp's_Last_Tape''_by_Samuel_Beckett.html" ;"title="Krapp's_Last_Tape.html" ;"title="f. ''Krapp's Last Tape">f. ''Krapp's Last Tape'' by Samuel Beckett">Krapp's_Last_Tape.html" ;"title="f. ''Krapp's Last Tape">f. ''Krapp's Last Tape'' by Samuel Beckett] * ''The Last Romanian'' (as Anne Argula) (New York: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2012) * ''Eternal Sojourners'' (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2019) * ''I Feel Bad About My Dick: Lamentations of Masculine Vanity and Lists of Startling Pertinence'' (Seattle: Pleasure Boat Studio, 2020)


Filmography

*''
The Last Detail ''The Last Detail'' is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James ...
'' (1973) (novel) *''
Cinderella Liberty ''Cinderella Liberty'' is a 1973 American drama film adapted by Daryl Ponicsan from his 1973 novel of the same title. The film tells the story of a sailor who falls in love with a prostitute and becomes a surrogate father for her 10-year-old mix ...
'' (1973) (novel and screenwriter) *''
The Girl Called Hatter Fox ''The Girl Called Hatter Fox'' is a 1977 American TV movie starring Ronny Cox and directed by George Schaefer (director), George Schaefer. It was the first film produced by EMI Television (they released ''The Amazing Howard Hughes'', but bought th ...
'' (1977) (TV) *'' Taps'' (with
Robert Mark Kamen Robert Mark Kamen (born October 9, 1947) is an American screenwriter, best known as creator of '' The Karate Kid franchise'', as well as for his later collaborations with French filmmaker Luc Besson, which includes the screenplay for '' The Fif ...
and James Lineberger) (1981) *''The Mississippi'' (1982) (TV) *''
Vision Quest A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. It is usually only undertaken by young males entering adulthood. Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English ...
'' (1985) *'' Nuts'' (with Alvin Sargent and
Tom Topor Tom Topor (born 1938) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Topor was born in Vienna, Austria, and was brought to London in 1939, where he remained until he came to New York City in 1949. He earned his bachelor's degree at Br ...
) (1987) *''
The Boost ''The Boost'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Harold Becker and based on the book '' Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream '' by Ben Stein. It stars James Woods, Sean Young, John Kapelos, Steven Hill, June Chandler and Amanda Blake ...
'' (1988) *''
School Ties ''School Ties'' is a 1992 American drama film directed by Robert Mandel and starring Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, Randall Batinkoff, Andrew Lowery, Cole Hauser, Ben Affleck, and Anthony Rapp. Fraser plays the lead role as David ...
'' (with
Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...
) (1992) *'' The Enemy Within'' (with Ron Bass) (1994) (TV) *''
Random Hearts ''Random Hearts'' is a 1999 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas. Based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Warren Adler, the film is about a police officer and a Congr ...
'' (with
Kurt Luedtke Kurt Luedtke (; September 28, 1939August 9, 2020) was an American screenwriter and executive editor of the ''Detroit Free Press''. He wrote ''Out of Africa'' (1985), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also wrote ' ...
) (1999) *''
Last Flag Flying ''Last Flag Flying'' is a 2017 American war comedy-drama film directed by Richard Linklater with a screenplay by Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan, based upon the latter's 2005 novel of the same name. It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Lauren ...
'' (2017) (novel and screenwriter)


References

* Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2002. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000079050. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponicsan, Darryl 1938 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters Living people People from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania Novelists from Pennsylvania Muhlenberg College alumni Cornell University alumni People from Owego, New York Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state)