Lukas Heller (21 July 1930 – 2 November 1988) was a German-born
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.
...
.
Biography
Heller was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family
in
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
. His father was political philosopher
Hermann Heller. He was known for writing the screen adaptions for several Robert Aldrich films such as ''
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (1962) and ''
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964); for the later film he won 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 ...
with
Henry Farrell
Henry Farrell (September 27, 1920 – March 29, 2006) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known as the author of the renowned gothic horror story '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'', which was made into a film starring Bette ...
, who wrote the source text for both films.
![Grave of Lukas Heller in Highgate Cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Grave_of_Lukas_Heller_in_Highgate_Cemetery.jpg)
Heller was married to Caroline (née Carter) who was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
.
They had four children:
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
writers
Bruno
Bruno may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname
* Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880)
* Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...
and
Zoë Heller
Zoë Kate Hinde Heller (born 7 July 1965) is an English journalist and novelist long resident in New York City. She has published three novels, ''Everything You Know'' (1999), '' Notes on a Scandal'' (2003), and '' The Believers'' (2008). ''Notes ...
, Lucy Heller, and Emily Heller.
His half-sister was the Swedish journalist
Cordelia Edvardson
Cordelia Maria Edvardson (née Langgässer; 1 January 1929 – 29 October 2012) was a German-born Swedish journalist, author and Holocaust survivor. She was the Jerusalem correspondent for '' Svenska Dagbladet'', a Swedish daily newspaper, from 1 ...
.
He died on 2 November 1988 and was buried on the eastern side of
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
in London, England.
Filmography
*''
Never Back Losers
''Never Back Losers'' is a 1961 British crime film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Jack Hedley, Jacqueline Ellis and Patrick Magee. The film is based on '' The Green Ribbon'' (1929) by Edgar Wallace. It was one of the Edgar Wallace My ...
'' (1961)
*''
Candidate for Murder
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* t ...
'' (1962)
*''
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (1962)
*''
Hot Enough for June
''Hot Enough for June'' is a 1964 British spy comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas, and starring Dirk Bogarde with Sylva Koscina in her English film debut, Robert Morley and Leo McKern. It is based on the 1960 novel '' The Night of Wenceslas'' by ...
'' (1964)
*''
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964) (with
Henry Farrell
Henry Farrell (September 27, 1920 – March 29, 2006) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known as the author of the renowned gothic horror story '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'', which was made into a film starring Bette ...
)
*''
The Flight of the Phoenix'' (1965)
*''
The Dirty Dozen
''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph M ...
'' (1967) (with
Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...
)
*''
The Killing of Sister George
''The Killing of Sister George'' is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was later adapted into a The Killing of Sister George (film), 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.
Stage version
Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio ser ...
'' (1968) (with
Frank Marcus
Frank Ulrich Marcus (30 June 1928 – 5 August 1996) was a British playwright, best known for ''The Killing of Sister George''.
Life and career
Marcus was born 30 June 1928 into a Jewish family in Breslau (then in Germany). They came to Eng ...
)
*''
Too Late the Hero'' (1970) (with
Robert Aldrich
Robert Burgess Aldrich (August 9, 1918 – December 5, 1983) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His notable credits include '' Vera Cruz'' (1954), ''Kiss Me Deadly'' (1955), ''The Big Knife'' (1955), '' Autumn L ...
and
Robert Sherman)
*''
Monte Walsh'' (1970) (with
David Zelag Goodman
David Zelag Goodman (January 15, 1930 – September 26, 2011) was a playwright and screenwriter for both TV and film. His most prolific period was from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He was nominated for an Academy Award for '' Lovers and Other S ...
)
*''
The Deadly Trackers
''The Deadly Trackers'' is a 1973 American Western film directed by Barry Shear and starring Richard Harris, Rod Taylor and Al Lettieri. It is based on the novel ''Riata'' by Samuel Fuller.
Plot
Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick (Harris) is a pacifist ...
'' (1973) (with
Samuel Fuller
Samuel Michael Fuller (August 12, 1912 – October 30, 1997) was an American film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and World War II veteran known for directing low-budget B movie, genre movies with controversial themes, often ...
)
*''
Damnation Alley
''Damnation Alley'' is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Roger Zelazny, based on a novella published in 1967. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1977.
Plot introduction
The story opens in a post-apocalyptic Southern Ca ...
'' (1977) (with
Alan Sharp
Alan Sharp (12 January 1934 – 8 February 2013) was a Scottish novelist and screenwriter. He published two novels in the 1960s, and subsequently wrote the screenplays for about twenty films, mostly produced in the United States.
According to ...
)
*''
Son of Hitler
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current co ...
'' (1979) (with
Burkhard Driest
Burkhard Driest (; 28 April 1939 – 27 February 2020) was a German actor, writer and director, known for his acting work in Sam Peckinpah's '' Cross of Iron'' and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's ''Querelle''. He also wrote novels and screenplays.
L ...
)
*''
Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil'' (1985) (TV)
*''
Blue City'' (1986)
References
External links
*
1930 births
1988 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
German male screenwriters
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom
Mass media people from Kiel
German male writers
Film people from Schleswig-Holstein
20th-century German screenwriters
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