William Clark Brinkley (September 10, 1917 – November 22, 1993) was an American writer and journalist, best known for his novels '' Don't Go Near the Water'' (1956), which

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 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 ...

adapted to an eponymous 1957 film, and '' The Last Ship'' (1988), which TNT adapted as a television series.

Early life and education

Brinkley was born in

Custer City, Oklahoma Custer City is a town in Custer County, Oklahoma, United States. Custer City is northeast of Clinton and northwest of Weatherford along Oklahoma 33. The population was 375 at the 2010 census. Custer City was originally known as Graves, and a ...

on September 10, 1917, the son of Daniel Squire Brinkley, a Baptist minister. The youngest of five children, Brinkley graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

from the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

in 1940.

Career

Naval service

Brinkley was a commissioned officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He served in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, primarily 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. ...

duties.

Writing

After graduating from the

in 1940, Brinkley worked for ''

The Daily Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th large ...

'' in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. Afterwards, he was a reporter for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' from 1941 to 1942 and from 1949 to 1951. In the latter period, he wrote an article about an exorcism that later became the basis of

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel, ''The Exorcist'', and for his 1974 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won ...

's bestselling novel ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...

'' (1971). Brinkley was also a staff writer,

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

, and assistant editor for ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine from 1951 to 1958, and a member of the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

until his death in 1993. After his tenure as an officer in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, Brinkley wrote and published his first novel, ''Quicksand'' (1948). In 1954, Brinkley published his only non-fiction book, ''The Deliverance of Sister Cecelia'', a biography of a

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

n nun based on her memoirs as recited to him. The novel was later adapted into a 1955 episode of ''

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS progra ...

''. In 1956, he released the best-selling novel and perhaps his most prominent work, '' Don't Go Near the Water'', a comedy about

sailors serving in the South Pacific during

. ''Don't Go Near the Water'' was adapted into film by

as '' Don't Go Near the Water'' (1957), which was released in theaters across the United States and became both a critical and commercial success. In 1961, Brinkley published ''The Fun House'', a comedy novel set in the offices of a picture magazine similar to ''

''. The following year, Brinkley published the novel, ''The Two Susans'' (1962), which was followed by ''The Ninety and Nine'' (1966), a novel detailing life on board a

LST operating in the Mediterranean Sea and at

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands ...

during

. In 1971, Brinkley moved to

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

, where he lived until his death in 1993. Throughout the 1970s, he only wrote one novel, ''Breakpoint'' (1978), about tennis. ''Breakpoint'' was followed by ''Peeper'' (December 1981), a comedy novel about a

voyeur Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...

in the small town of Martha, Texas, near the Rio Grande. In March 1988, Brinkley published his last work, '' The Last Ship'', a

post-apocalyptic fiction Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

novel dealing with the sailors of the USS ''Nathan James'' (DDG-80), a fictional

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...

which survives a brief, full-scale global nuclear war between the United States and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Death

On November 22, 1993, after suffering from a

major depressive disorder Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

for several years, Brinkley committed suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates at his home in

, near the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. He was 76. He was cremated and his ashes scattered in the

Bibliography

Novels

* * * * * * * *

Non-fiction

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brinkley, William Clark 1917 births 1993 suicides 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American male biographers American comedy writers United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Drug-related suicides in Texas Barbiturates-related deaths News editors The Washington Post journalists 20th-century American biographers American male novelists 20th-century American businesspeople