Elliott Baker (December 15, 1922 – February 9, 2007), born Elliot Joseph Cohen, was a screenwriter and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

. He died from cancer. Baker was born in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. He was the author of the

comic novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literar ...

A Fine Madness ''A Fine Madness'' is a 1966 American Technicolor comedy film based on the 1964 novel by Elliott Baker that tells the story of Samson Shillitoe, a frustrated poet unable to finish a grand tome. It stars Sean Connery (in the midst of his James Bo ...

'', which was published in 1964 by G.P. Putnam's Sons. He adapted the novel into a 1966 motion picture starring Sean Connery and

Joanne Woodward Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...

.''New York Times'' obituary, February 21, 2007 ''A Fine Madness'' tells the story of Samson Shillitoe, a rebellious poet in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

who battles a psychiatrist seeking to curb his mood swings via psychosurgery. The New York Times Book Review called the novel "a masterpiece of what one might call rebellious farce."New York Times obituary His other novels included ''Pocock & Pitt'' (Putnam, 1971), which was the basis for the television series '' Adderly'', which Baker also created; ''Klynt's Law'' (Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1976); ''And We Were Young'' (Times Books, 1979); and ''Unhealthful Air'' (Viking, 1988). His novel ''The Penny Wars'' (Putnam, 1968) was adapted for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stage. As a screenwriter he wrote a number of television movies, and was nominated for an Emmy award in 1976 for his adaptation of '' The Entertainer''. He also wrote
Side Show
, the most famous episode of Roald Dahl's 1961 television anthologybr>horror series
'' Way Out'', which featured a carnival "electric woman with a light bulb for a head." He also wrote the mini-series adaptation of Lace from a novel by Shirley Conran and Lace 2. He wrote the script for the ABC mini-series Malibu starring William Atherton and Susan Dey.

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* 1922 births 2007 deaths People from Buffalo, New York Indiana University Bloomington alumni Deaths from cancer in the United States 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screenwriter-stub