Gerald Green (April 8, 1922 – August 29, 2006) was an American author, journalist, and television writer.

Biography

Green was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York as Gerald Greenberg. He was the son of a physician, Dr. Samuel Greenberg. He was Jewish. Green attended Columbia College, where he edited the '' Jester'', starred in several

Varsity Show The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University and its oldest performing arts presentation. Founded in 1894 as a fundraiser for the university's fledgling athletic teams, the Varsity Show now draws together the entire Col ...

s, and was a member of the

Philolexian Society The Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary and debate societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. Founded in 1802, the Society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Compo ...

. He graduated from the college in 1942 and, after serving in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in Europe during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, where he was also the editor of the army's '' Stars and Stripes'' newspaper, he returned to New York to attend the

Columbia Journalism School The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights, Manhattan, Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is ...

. Green wrote many novels, the best known being ''The Last Angry Man'', published in 1956. It was adapted into a movie by the same name which was nominated for

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Muni) and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White. His other novels include ''His Majesty O'Keefe'' (co-authored with Lawrence Klingman), adapted into a 1954 film, ''North West'', ''Portofino PTA'', ''To Brooklyn With Love'', ''My Son the Jock'', ''The Lotus Eaters'' and ''East and West''. His 1962 novel ''Portofino P.T.A.'' was adapted into a musical, ''

Something More! ''Something More!'' is a musical with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman. The book by Nate Monaster is based on the 1962 novel ''Portofino P.T.A.'' by Gerald Green. Composer Robert Prince contributed some music ...

'', by composer Sammy Fain and lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman. He wrote the

teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...

for ''

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

'', a critically acclaimed 1978 TV miniseries that won eight Emmy Awards, including one for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series," and was credited with persuading the

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

government to repeal the statute of limitations on

Nazi war crimes The governments of the German Empire and Nazi Germany (under Adolf Hitler) ordered, organized and condoned a substantial number of war crimes, first in the Herero and Namaqua genocide and then in the First and Second World Wars. The most notabl ...

. He later adapted the script into a novel of the same title. In recognition for this effort, Green was awarded the

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld ( , ; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 196 ...

International Peace Prize The World Peace Council (WPC), a pro-Soviet non-governmental organization, has awarded a number of prizes, beginning in 1950. These have been awarded to individuals, organisations, peoples, and places. Typically, several winners would be voted at ...

for literature, 1979. Green won another Emmy nomination for his 1985 TV script for ''Wallenberg: A Hero's Story''. Green was also a writer, producer, and director for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

. In 1952, he co-created (with

Dave Garroway David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depressi ...

)

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

''. Green lived in Stamford, Connecticut for twenty years and moved to

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bound ...

. His first wife, Marie, died of cancer. They had three children: Nancy, Ted and David. He married Marlene Eagle in 1979, becoming stepfather to Dr Janie Worth (née Eagle), Julie Cardo (née Eagle) and David Eagle. Green died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

in Norwalk, Connecticut on August 29, 2006.

Books written by Gerald Green

Novels

*''His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1950) (with Lawrence Klingman) *''The Sword and the Sun'' (1953) *''The Last Angry Man'' (1956) *''The Lotus Eaters'' (1959) *''The Heartless Light'' (1962) *''The Portofino P.T.A'' (1962) *''The Legion of Noble Christians: Or, the Sweeney Survey'' (1966) *''To Brooklyn with Love'' (1967) *''Faking It: Or, the Wrong Hungarian'' (1971) *''Block Buster'' (1972) *''Tourist'' (1973) *''My Son the Jock'' (1975) *''Hostage Heart'' (1976) *''An American Prophet'' (1977) *''Holocaust'' (1978 by Transworld Publishers) *''The Healers'' (1979) *''Girl'' (1979) *''The Chains'' (1980) *''Murfy's Men'' (1982) *''Karpov's Brain'' (1983) *''Not in Vain'' (1984) *''East and West'' (1986 and 1987 by Fawcett Publishing) – and

Plays

*Kent State: Four-hour Teleplay (1980)

Non fiction

*The Stones of Zion: A Novelist's Journal in Israel (1971) *''Artists of Terezin'' (1978)

References and external links

*
Gerald Green, Biography, RosettaBooks.com
Retrieved June 16, 2007
Stoppel, Ellen Kaye Stoppel. Editorial Review: East and West by Gerald Green, Library Journal, Drake University Law Library, Des Moines, Reed Business Information, Inc., 1986, and Amazon.com
Retrieved June 16, 2007
Books Written by Gerald Green
Retrieved June 16, 2007
The Works of Gerald Green, FantasticFiction.co.uk
Retrieved June 16, 2007
Reader's Digest Condensed Books, A Place to Hide; Nightshade; East and West; a Time for Heroes (Abridged/Hardcover) by Evelyn Anthony (author); Gloria Murphy (author); Gerald Green (author), Will Bryant (author), Volume 2, 1987
Retrieved June 16, 2007 Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Gerald 1922 births 2006 deaths American male journalists Journalists from New York City 20th-century American novelists Columbia College (New York) alumni Writers from Stamford, Connecticut Writers from Brooklyn American male novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Connecticut Deaths from pneumonia in Connecticut 20th-century American non-fiction writers United States Army personnel of World War II