Walon Green (born December 15, 1936) is an American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

director and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, for both television and film.

Career

Green produced and directed documentaries for ''National Geographic'' and David Wolper, including '' The Hellstrom Chronicle'', for which he was accorded the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

and the

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

in 1972, and ''

The Secret Life of Plants ''The Secret Life of Plants'' (1973) is a book by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, which documents controversial experiments that claim to reveal unusual phenomena associated with plants, such as plant sentience and the ability of plants ...

'' in 1979. Among his screenwriting credits are the films ''

The Wild Bunch ''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw gang ...

'', ''

Sorcerer Sorcerer may refer to: Magic * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sou ...

'', '' The Brink's Job'', ''

Solarbabies ''Solarbabies'' (also known as ''Solarwarriors'' and ''Solarfighters'') is a 1986 American science fiction film, made by Brooksfilms and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was the second and final film directed by Alan Johnson, who is better k ...

'', ''

Eraser An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from which the material first used got its name) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellu ...

'', ''

The Hi-Lo Country ''The Hi-Lo Country'' is a 1998 Western film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Billy Crudup, Penélope Cruz, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, Enrique Castillo, and Katy Jurado. It is set in post-World War II ...

'' and '' RoboCop 2''. On television, he wrote and produced episodes of ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', '' ER'' and ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'' for which he received a 1995

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

. He was a Creative Consultant for the Chris Carter science fiction TV series ''

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

'', where he co-wrote the episode " Paper Dove" with

Ted Mann Ted Mann (April 16, 1916 – January 15, 2001) was an American businessman involved in the film industry and head of Mann Theatres. In 1973, he purchased the National General Theatre chain and changed the name of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, w ...

. He is also notable for allowing a millipede to crawl over his face in the tunnel scene of ''

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart from a screenplay by Roald Dahl, based on his 1964 novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. It stars Gene Wilder as chocol ...

''. In fall 2008, he assumed the post of executive producer for the

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leona ...

Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe (born July 5, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Alexandra Eames on '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', a spin-off of ''Law & Order'', and Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series '' Oz''. Early l ...

episodes of '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', he took over as show runner/executive producer for all episodes in the series' ninth season. In 2008, Green was the

Head Writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

Showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

of the television pilot ''Bunker Hill'', starring

Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor and producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has starred in the TV drama series ''Blue Bloods (TV series), Blue Bloo ...

and Bridget Moynahan and directed by

Jon Avnet __NOTOC__ Jonathan Avnet (born November 17, 1949) is an American director, writer and producer. Avnet was born in Brooklyn, the son of Joan Bertha (née Grossman) and Lester Francis Avnet, a corporate executive with Avnet (a global distributor ...

. The pilot was not picked up for a series. Green wrote the 2015 miniseries adaptation of '' Killing Jesus: A History''.

Awards and nominations

Walon Green was nominated in 1970 for an Oscar for

best original screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

for ''

''. He was awarded an Oscar in 1972 for his pseudo-documentary '' The Hellstrom Chronicle'', for which he also won The Technical Grand Prize at Cannes in 1971 and the Flaherty Documentary Award. He was nominated for Primetime Emmys in 1986 for ''

'', in 1993 and 1994 for his work on ''

'' and won an Emmy in 1995 for his writing on ''

''. Green was nominated for an Emmy Award for co-writing (with Robert Nathan) the 1993 ''Law & Order'' episode "

Manhood A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fath ...

". The episode won a

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

for Outstanding Dramatic Television Episode.Tropiano, Stephen (2002). ''The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV''. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. . p. 83 Green was nominated for an

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

in 1993 for an episode of ''Law & Order'' and won the same award in 1995 which he shared with

David Milch David Sanford Milch (born March 23, 1945) is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including ABC's ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–2005), co-created with Steven Bochco, and HBO's '' Deadwood'' (200 ...

and

Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco (December 16, 1943 – April 1, 2018) was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, mostly crime dramas, including '' Hill Street Blues''; ''L.A. Law''; '' Doogie Howser, M.D.''; ...

for their ''NYPD Blue'' episode "Simone Says."

Personal life

Walon Green was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

on December 15, 1936. He is the father of Darwin Green, a writer and film editor, and Collin Green, a teacher and photographer.

Filmography

As writer - films * '' Morituri'' (1965) (uncredited) * ''

'' (1969) * ''

'' (1977) * '' The Brink's Job'' (1978) * '' The Border'' (1982) * ''

WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American techno-thriller film directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a ...

'' (1983) (uncredited) * ''

'' (1986) * '' Crusoe'' (1988) * '' RoboCop 2'' (1990) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

'' (2000) (co-screenplay and co-story) Television * ''Plimpton! Adventures in Africa'' (1972, TV film) * ''Strange New World'' (1975, TV film) * ''Mysteries of the Sea'' (1980, TV film) * ''Robert Kennedy and His Times'' (1985, TV miniseries episode) * ''Hill Street Blues'' (1985–1986, 11 TV episodes) * ''Law & Order'' (1992–1994, 8 TV episodes) * ''Without Warning'' (1994, TV movie) * ''NYPD Blue'' (1994–1995, 4 TV episodes) * ''Millenium'' (1997, 1 episode) * ''ER'' (1997-2000, 5 episodes) * ''Big Apple'' (2001, 1 episode) * ''Zero Effect'' (2002, TV film) * ''Dragnet'' (2003, 1 episode) * ''L.A. Confidential'' (2003) * ''Law & Order: Trial by Jury'' (2005, 3 episodes) * ''Conviction'' (2006, 13 episodes as writer/developer) * ''Bunker Hill'' (2009, TV film) * ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2009–2010, 6 episodes) * ''Saints & Strangers'' (2015, 1 episode) * ''The Man in the High Castle'' (2015, 1 episode) * ''Killing Jesus'' (2015, TV film) * ''Saints & Strangers'' (2015, 1 episode, miniseries) * ''Mercy Street'' (2017, 2 episodes)

References

External links

*
Walon Green
on NPR's ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

'' (March 10, 2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Walon 1936 births Living people American male screenwriters American television writers American documentary filmmakers Edgar Award winners Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners American male television writers Writers Guild of America Award winners Writers from Baltimore