Charles Gary Allison (1938 – May 13, 2008) was an American screenwriter and film producer.

Early life and education

Allison spent the first years of his life in London, returning to the United States in 1944. He grew up living simultaneously in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, attending school in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, England, Tokyo, Saigon, and Hong Kong. He obtained his undergraduate degree in international relations from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

in 1960, where he was a member of the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

fraternity.

Career

From 1961 to 1963, he served as a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

social aide during the

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

administration. From 1963 to 1969 he chaired a non-partisan White House youth program under both the

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

and Richard M. Nixon administrations, during which time he worked on a master's degree in international relations at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. Allison returned to the

in 1973 to obtain two master's degrees (in cinema production and professional writing) and a Ph.D. in Philosophy. In 1977, he wrote and produced '' Fraternity Row'' for Paramount Pictures, which won him numerous industry awards. He worked continuously on a number of studio films in the U.S. and abroad, and also wrote and produced The First Olympics: Athens 1896 (1984), a TV mini-series for Columbia Pictures Television. The mini-series aired on NBC in 1984, and depicts the adventures of the United States' first Olympic team at the Athens 1896 Games. "The First Olympics", which received a number of Emmy nominations and awards, also won Allison the WGA Annual Award for Outstanding Script of 1984 (Television Long Form Series) from his colleagues at the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

. In 1978, Allison helped to found and served as co-chair of the Utah/US Film Festival with Robert Redford, which would later go on to become the Sundance Film Festival. Allison began work in 1984 on "The Olympic Century", the official 25 volume history of the modern Olympic movement, in a cooperative partnership with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

and several national Olympic committees. The series will be available to teachers, schools, students and libraries beginning in the Fall of 2008. In 1987, the series development was designated 1st Century Project with Allison serving as chairman, which he has done up and until the present time. Allison died at his home in

, May 13, 2008. Allison was widowed in 1997 and is survived by one son, Richard, who lives and works in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Charles Gary 1938 births 2008 deaths American film producers American male screenwriters American television producers Film festival founders Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Kennedy administration personnel Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel Nixon administration personnel University of Southern California alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni USC School of International Relations alumni Screenwriters from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American expatriates in the United Kingdom