Dennis Clontz (April 10, 1951 – June 14, 2004) was an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, journalist, and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting in 1986. Clontz was part of a team of '' Los Angeles Times'' journalists awarded a 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting on the

1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The quake had a duration of approximately ...

. Clontz earned 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 ...

degree from University of California, Los Angeles. Plays by Clontz include ''Generations'', ''Night Breath'', ''Interfusions'', ''Fire/Photograph'', ''American Play'', and ''A Match Made in Heaven''. Clontz died of lung cancer.Staff report (June 20, 2004)
Dennis Clontz, 51; Playwright's Works Were Widely Produced.
'' Los Angeles Times'' His heirs have announced planned publication of a posthumous collection of his plays and poems.

References

External links

Dennis Clontz website
* 1951 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American male screenwriters American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-playwright-stub