John Cherry Monks Jr. (February 24, 1910 – December 10, 2004) was an American writer, actor, playwright, screenwriter, director, and a U.S. Marine.

Biography

Monks was born in Pleasantville, New York. He attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and became a stage actor. Together with a fellow former cadet

Fred Finklehoffe Fred Franklin Finklehoffe (February 16, 1910, Springfield, Massachusetts – October 5, 1977, Springtown, Pennsylvania) was an American film writer and producer. He was educated at Virginia Military Institute (V.M.I.) where he met his writing part ...

, he co-wrote a play in 1936 titled '' Brother Rat''. The success of the play led to Warner Bros. purchasing the play for filming at VMI. Warners engaged them to write the screenplay for the film and a sequel titled ''Brother Rat and a Baby''. Monks also wrote '' Strike Up the Band'' (1940) and '' Dial 1119'' (1950) for MGM. In World War II, Monks enlisted in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

. He met producer Louis de Rochemont and co-wrote ''

We Are the Marines ''We Are the Marines'' is a 1942 full-length documentary film produced by ''The March of Time''. It was produced and directed by Louis De Rochemont and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Plot The early portions of the film deal with the history ...

''. Captain Monks served in the

3rd Marine Regiment The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment is a regiment of the United States Marine Corps that is optimized for littoral maneuver in the Indo-Pacific Theater. Based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, the regiment falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Divisi ...

during the Bougainville campaign and wrote an account of the Regiment in ''A Ribbon and a Star: The Third Marines At Bougainville'', published in 1945. Monks returned to civilian life writing the screenplays for several films, such as '' The House on 92nd Street'' (winning an Edgar Allan Poe Award), '' Knock on Any Door'', ''

The People Against O'Hara ''The People Against O'Hara'' is a 1951 American crime film noir directed by John Sturges and based on Eleazar Lipsky's novel. The film features Spencer Tracy, Pat O'Brien, John Hodiak, and James Arness. Plot James Curtayne ( Tracy) was ...

'' and later (with Richard Goldstone) writing, producing and directing '' No Man Is an Island'' (1962) about American sailor

George Ray Tweed George Ray Tweed (July 2, 1902 – January 16, 1989) was a decorated radioman in the United States Navy who served during World War II. He is most famous for evading Japanese capture for two years and seven months after the surrender of the U.S g ...

, who remained undetected on Guam from the Japanese invasion to the American recapture. After a long absence from the cinema, Monks made several appearances as an actor, beginning with

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

's '' Paradise Alley'' (1978). He died in Pacific Palisades, California.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monks, John Cherry Jr. American male screenwriters Film producers from New York (state) American film directors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights United States Marine Corps officers 1910 births 2004 deaths People from Pleasantville, New York American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II