Ernest Ralph Tidyman (January 1, 1928 – July 14, 1984) was an American author and screenwriter, best known for his novels featuring the African-American detective
John Shaft
John Shaft is a fictional character created by author/screenwriter Ernest Tidyman for the 1970 novel of the same name. He was portrayed by Richard Roundtree in the original 1971 film and in its four sequels, '' Shaft's Big Score!'' (1972), '' Sh ...
. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film version of ''
Shaft'' with
John D. F. Black
John Donald Francis Black (December 30, 1932 – November 29, 2018) was a screenwriter, TV producer, and TV director. He is best known for his work on the TV series ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' in 1966, and its sequel series, '' Star Trek ...
in 1971.
His screenplay for ''
The French Connection'' garnered him an
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musica ...
, as well as a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, a
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility
Th ...
, and an
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
.
Early life
Tidyman was born in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, the son of Kathryn (Kascsak) and Benjamin Ralph Tidyman, a crime reporter for ''
The Plain Dealer
''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday.
As of Ma ...
''.
He was of Hungarian and British descent. He began his career as a copyboy in Cleveland when he was 14, having dropped out of school in grade seven.
Tidyman enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946 serving in
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
. He worked as a journalist and crime reporter for the next two decades in a number of cities, including a stint as editor of
Diners Club
A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
magazine, and writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' (1960–66), ''
The New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' (1957–60), male magazines and black newspapers. In 1968 he wrote his first novel, ''Flower Power'' about hippies. He then decided to write about a black detective, ''Shaft''.
Career
''Shaft'' and ''French Connection''
He later said about writing ''Shaft'', "Reading black fiction, you see that the central figure is either super hero or super victim, as in
Styron's book">illiamStyron's book. The blacks I knew were smart and sophisticated, and I thought, what about a black hero who thinks of himself as a human being, but who uses his black rage as one of his resources, along with intelligence and courage."
His novel ''Shaft'' was read by Philip d'Antoni, who hired him to write ''
The French Connection''.
"We think he has the potential to be a better than average thriller writer", said director William Friedkin. "He writes people so that an audience can define characters quickly, but then complications begin to set in." Friedkin said he rewrote much of the script "But Tidyman's name will be first" on the credits.
Friedkin's rewriting and credit grab annoyed Tidyman, who downplayed the director's contribution.
The dual success of ''Shaft'' and ''French Connection'' made Tidyman one of the top screenwriters in the business. "Tidyman from a standing start suddenly looks like a one man resuscitator for the movie as public entertainment", wrote ''The'' ''Los Angeles Times''.
Tidyman was one of the few filmmakers to speak up for the much-maligned
James T. Aubrey
James Thomas Aubrey Jr. (December 14, 1918 – September 3, 1994) was an American television and film executive. As president of the CBS television network from 1959 to 1965, with his "smell for the blue-collar," he produced some of televi ...
, president of
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
, who financed ''Shaft''. "Nobody ever lied to me at MGM or told me they were going to do something they didn't do", he said.
Producer
However, he was not happy with the final films, particularly ''Shaft'', and decided to move into producing as well, establishing Ernest Tidyman Productions in 1971.
Ernest Tidyman Productions was changed to Ernest Tidyman International, Ltd., in 1971 and back to Ernest Tidyman Productions in 1979. Tidyman also established Shaft Productions in 1972 to handle ''Shaft''
's sequels, Pilgrim Productions to handle ''Big Bucks'', and Family Trouble Productions to produce an unmade film ''Family Trouble''.
"You have to hyphenate", he said. "If you've got an idea, you'd better write it, and then you'd better produce it, so you can control it. This town depends more on the men who write, on the storytellers, than on anybody else, and it doesn't begin
..to know how to deal with them rightly."
He wrote the screenplay for the 1973 film ''
High Plains Drifter
''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who ...
'', directed by and starring
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
. Tidyman also wrote the sequel to ''Shaft'', ''
Shaft's Big Score
''Shaft's Big Score!'' is a 1972 American blaxploitation action- crime film starring Richard Roundtree as private detective John Shaft. It is the second entry in the ''Shaft'' film series, with both director Gordon Parks and screenwriter Ernest ...
'', which appeared in theaters in 1972.
In 1974, he published ''Dummy'', a non-fiction account of the story of
Donald Lang, an accused deaf-mute murderer. It was nominated for an
Edgar
Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear").
Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...
in the Fact Crime category. He adapted the book into
a 1979 TV movie starring
LeVar Burton
Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''Root ...
.
Later career
He co-wrote ''
A Force of One
''A Force of One'' is a 1979 American action martial arts film starring Chuck Norris, Jennifer O'Neill, Ron O'Neal, Clu Gulager and Bill Wallace. The film was directed by Paul Aaron and written by Pat E. Johnson and Ernest Tidyman and released by ...
'' in 1979, one of
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...
's earlier films.
In 1980, he wrote the teleplay for the TV movie ''
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones'', which he also had a hand in producing, which got him an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nomination. For creating the ''Shaft'' books, he became one of the few white individuals to win an
NAACP Image Award
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
.
"I write for money", Tidyman said in a 1980 interview. He got up at six am and wrote for 12 hours a day.
Tidyman summed up the three main elements of his craft as:
"Drama, usually in the event itself, clarity of the telling, and most importantly, energy: the energy that I am able to infuse into the same words that are available to anybody who knows the language and its structure. If I can tell a story in a way that contains energy – a force – I think it's fairly certain it will be told in an interesting way."
Personal life
Tidyman married five times. He had two sons, Ben (adopted) and Nathaniel, with his third wife Ruth Rayle Tidyman. With his fourth wife, Susan Gould, he fathered two children – Adam and Nicholas.
In 1982, he married former
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
soul singer
Chris Clark, who had co-written the screenplay for ''
Lady Sings the Blues'' (1972).
Tidyman died in 1984 in
Westminster Hospital
Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded.
In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...
in London, England, following complications due to alcoholism.
Books
John Shaft
John Shaft is a fictional character created by author/screenwriter Ernest Tidyman for the 1970 novel of the same name. He was portrayed by Richard Roundtree in the original 1971 film and in its four sequels, '' Shaft's Big Score!'' (1972), '' Sh ...
novels
* ''
Shaft'' (1970)
* ''Shaft Among the Jews'' (1972)
* ''Shaft's Big Score!'' (1972)
* ''Shaft Has a Ball'' (1973)
* ''Goodbye, Mr. Shaft'' (1973)
* ''Shaft's Carnival of Killers'' (1974)
* ''The Last Shaft'' (1975)
Others
* ''The Anzio Death Trap'' (1968) – factual
* ''Flower Power'' (1968)
* ''Absolute Zero'' (1971)
* ''High Plains Drifter'' (1973)
* ''Dummy'' (1974) – factual
* ''Line of Duty'' (1974)
* ''Starstruck'' (1975)
* ''Table Stakes'' (1978)
* ''Big Bucks'' (1982) – factual
Filmography
* ''
Shaft'' (1971)
* ''
The French Connection'' (1971)
* ''
Shaft's Big Score
''Shaft's Big Score!'' is a 1972 American blaxploitation action- crime film starring Richard Roundtree as private detective John Shaft. It is the second entry in the ''Shaft'' film series, with both director Gordon Parks and screenwriter Ernest ...
'' (1972)
* ''
High Plains Drifter
''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who ...
'' (1973) – originally known as ''Dance''
* ''
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
''Ghost in the Noonday Sun'' is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Peter Medak starring Peter Sellers, Anthony Franciosa and Spike Milligan. The film suffered a difficult production due to Sellers's erratic behavior and was not theatrically ...
'' (1973) – uncredited
* ''
Report to the Commissioner
''Report to the Commissioner'' is a 1975 American crime drama film based on James Mills' 1972 novel. It involves a rookie cop ( Michael Moriarty) in the New York City Police Department who is assigned a special missing person case, which in fac ...
'' (1975)
* ''
Street People'' (1976)
* ''
A Force of One
''A Force of One'' is a 1979 American action martial arts film starring Chuck Norris, Jennifer O'Neill, Ron O'Neal, Clu Gulager and Bill Wallace. The film was directed by Paul Aaron and written by Pat E. Johnson and Ernest Tidyman and released by ...
'' (1979)
[
* '']Last Plane Out
''Last Plane Out'' is a 1983 film, directed by David Nelson, son of Ozzie and Harriet. It was based on journalist Jack Cox's (who co-produced the film) experience in Nicaragua when it was ruled by Anastasio Somoza Debayle and his battle again ...
'' (1983)
Unproduced screenplays
* ''The Beauty People'' (1970)
* ''The Inspector'' (1970) – for Fox, about a rogue police officer.
* ''Please Be Careful, Barney Noble'' (1971) – for his own company and United Artists.
* ''The Story of Donald Lang'' (1971) – for his own company and United Artists.
* ''Paternity Suit'' (1971) – TV movie for his own company and ABC.
* ''Piece of the Action'' (1971) – TV movie for Metromedia Producers Corp and his own company.
* ''The Second Coming of Suzanne'' (1971)
* ''Hero'' (1971)
* ''Forfeit'' (1974) – based on the novel by Dick Francis
Richard Stanley Francis (31 October 1920 – 14 February 2010) was a British steeplechase jockey and crime writer whose novels centre on horse racing in England.
After wartime service in the RAF, Francis became a full-time jump-jockey, wi ...
, with Tidyman to direct.
* ''Absolute Zero'' (1973) – from his novel starring Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...
.
* ''Ruby Red'' (1974) – a film about country music for Ray Stark
Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was one of the most successful and prolific independent film producers in postwar Hollywood. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most ...
.
* ''The Sicilian Cross'' (1975) – about the Sicilian mafia.
* ''Fire and Ice'' (1976) – the story of Charles Revlon.
* ''Chennault: The Flying Tiger'' (1980) – TV movie.
* ''Agent Orange'' (1980) – TV movie for CBS.
* ''The Story of Nat Love
Nat Love (June 14, 1854 – February 11, 1921) was an American cowboy and writer active in the period following the Civil War. His reported exploits have made him one of the more famous heroes of the Old West.
Early life
Nat Love, (pronounced "N ...
'' (1980) – TV movie for CBS.
* ''The Snake'' (1980) – for Alfredo Leone.
* ''The Rock and Clarence Carnes'' (1980)
Television movies and mini-series
* ''To Kill a Cop'' (1978) based on the book by Robert Daley
* '' Dummy'' (1979)
* ''Power: An American Saga'' (1980)
* '' Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones'' (1980) based on the book by Charles A. Krause
* '' Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story'' (1980) based on a story by Clarence Carnes & Don DeNevi
* ''Stark'' (with David H. Balkan) (1985)
* '' Brotherly Love'' (1985) based on the novel by William D. Blankenship
Television series
* Walking Tall (1981) story consultant
References
External links
*
* Th
Ernest Tidyman papers
at th
American Heritage Center
Ernest Tidyman: The White Man Behind the Black Hero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tidyman, Ernest
1928 births
1984 deaths
20th-century American novelists
American crime writers
American male screenwriters
American mystery writers
Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners
Edgar Award winners
Writers from Cleveland
Writers Guild of America Award winners
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Ohio
Screenwriters from Ohio
20th-century American screenwriters