James Willis Cash (January 17, 1941 – March 25, 2000) was an American film writer, noted for writing such 1980s films as ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...

'' and '' The Secret of My Success''.

Early life

Cash was born on January 17, 1941, in

Boyne City Boyne City () is a city in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,816 at the 2020 census. The city is located at the southeastern end of Lake Charlevoix where Boyne River drains into the lake. History The area ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Education

In 1970, Cash received a

B.A. 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 ...

in English from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

(MSU). In 1972, Cash received an M.A. in Television and Radio from

Career

As a professor, Cash taught writing and film history at

. Cash met a student named Jack Epps, Jr., who would later become his writing partner. Epps was from the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

area. Cash and Epps began their writing relationship while at

. In 1975, they wrote their first story together in the MSU Union Grill. Soon afterward Epps moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Cash continued to live in

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

, while Epps lived in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. They collaborated via computer. In 1986, Cash and Epps co-wrote ''

''.

Personal life

Cash married his first wife, Mariann (Mimi), when he was a professor at MSU and she was a sophomore at MSU studying communications. Cash and his second wife, Cynthia, had four children. He and his wife had a restaurant in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

. Cash also established several scholarships for film production and performing arts. He died after hospitalization for an intestinal ailment.

Filmography

* ''Dangerously'' (with

Jack Epps Jr. Jack Epps Jr. (born November 3, 1949) is an American screenwriter, author, and educator, known chiefly for such popular 1980s films as '' Top Gun'', ''Legal Eagles'', and '' The Secret of My Success'', which he wrote with longtime partner Jim ...

) (1978) (unproduced) * ''

Izzy and Moe ''Izzy and Moe'' is a 1985 American made-for-television comedy-crime film starring Jackie Gleason and Art Carney. It is a fictional account of two actual Prohibition-era policemen, Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith, and their adventures in tracking ...

'' (with

, Steven Patrick Bell and

Robert Boris Robert Boris (October 12, 1945) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. Boris was nicknamed Double B by film producer Elliott Kastner. Awards Boris won the WGA Award for Original/Adapted Multi-Part Long Form Series for ''Blood ...

) (1985) (TV) (story only) * ''

'' (with

) (1986) * ''

Legal Eagles ''Legal Eagles'' is a 1986 American legal romantic comedy mystery crime thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman, written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr. from a story by Reitman and the screenwriters, and starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger, and ...

'' (with

) (1986) * '' The Secret of My Success'' (with

and A.J. Carothers) (1987) * ''

Turner & Hooch ''Turner & Hooch'' is a 1989 American buddy cop comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Beasley the Dog as the eponymous characters respectively. The film also co-stars Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson and Reginald VelJohnson. It was directed by ...

'' (with

Dennis Shryack Dennis Shryack (August 25, 1936 – September 14, 2016) was an American screenwriter. Born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, Shryack began his career as a singer in The Escorts quartet, which toured as an opening act for well-known artists such ...

Michael Blodgett Michael Blodgett (September 26, 1939 – November 14, 2007) was an American actor, novelist, and screenwriter. Of his many film and television appearances he is best known for his performance as gigolo Lance Rocke in Russ Meyer's 1970 cult cl ...

and Daniel Petrie Jr.) (1989) * ''

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...

'' (with

) (1990) * ''

Anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large snakes of the genus '' Eunectes''. They are found in tropical South America. Four species are currently recognized. Description Although the name applies to a group of snakes, it is often used ...

'' (with

and Hans Bauer) (1997) * ''

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas ''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas'' (also known as ''The Flintstones 2'' or ''The Flintstones 2: Viva Rock Vegas'' in a working title) is a 2000 American romantic comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jim Cash, Harry Elfont, Debor ...

'' (with

) (2000) * '' Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid'' (with

and Hans Bauer) (2004) (story, elements from the original ''Anaconda'' script) * '' Top Gun: Maverick'' (based on characters created by with Jack Epps Jr.) (2022) (story only) (screenplay from the film ''Top Gun'')

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cash, Jim 1941 births 2000 deaths People from Boyne City, Michigan American male screenwriters Michigan State University alumni Screenwriting instructors Screenwriters from Michigan 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters Deaths from digestive disease