Max Wilk (July 3, 1920 – February 19, 2011) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author of fiction and nonfiction books. In all, Wilk was the author of 19 books, four films, three produced plays as well as many TV shows and magazine articles.

Biography

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 ...

Wilk served in the

First Motion Picture Unit The 18th AAF Base Unit (Motion Picture Unit), originally known as the First Motion Picture Unit, Army Air Forces, was the primary film production unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, and was the first military unit mad ...

of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. Formerly a resident of Ridgefield,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, he moved to

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

, where he lived until his death February 19, 2011, at age 90.

Works

In 1968, Wilk wrote the novelization of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' cartoon '' Yellow Submarine.'' His fiction includes ''Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River''; the movie version starred Jerry Lewis and shifted the locale from "Green Haven" (based on Ridgefield) to

London, England London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

.
"When Connecticut was Cool," by Christopher Arnott, article in the ''New Haven Advocate'', July 29, 2004. On the original bookjacket is the warning: :While the locale of this book is Connecticut, it has nothing of importance to say about

Suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include Commercial area, commercial and mixed-use development, mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a ...

, Exurbia, the Exploding

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

, or the stifling wave of

Middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...

Conformity which, it is argued, will soon engulf the whole of Fairfield County. In the '90s, he published a

coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire convers ...

tracing the origins of the musical ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

''. Later he wrote ''Schmucks with Underwoods--Conversations with Hollywood's Classic Screenwriters''. For decades Wilk was a

dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

for playwrights at

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awar ...

's National Playwright's Conference under the leadership of Lloyd Richards.

Books

*''The Sound of Music: The Making of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Classic Musical'', Routledge (2006), *''OK! The Story Of Oklahoma!: A Celebration of America's Most Beloved Musical'', 292 pages, Applause Books; (2002) *''Schmucks with Underwoods: Conversations with America's Classic Screenwriters,'', 338 pages, Applause Books (2004), *''The Golden Age of Television: Notes from the Survivors'', 274 pages, Delacorte Press (1976) (Paperback: Truck Press; 3rd edition, 1999, ) *''Overture and Finale: Rodgers & Hammerstein and the Creation of Their Two Greatest Hits'' (''Oklahoma!'' and ''The Sound of Music'') Paperback: 192 pages, Watson-Guptill Publications (April 1999) *''American Treasure Hunt: The Legacy of Israel Sack'' co-author, Harold Sack, 270 pages, Little Brown & Co (November 1986), *''A Tough ACT to Follow'', co-author, Jim Connor, 346 pages, Norton (January 1986) (paperback, PaperJacks (1988) ) *''And Did You Once See Sydney Plain?: A Random Memoir of S.J. Perelman'', 83 pages, Norton (1986), *''Get Out and Get Under'', 317 pages, Norton (1981), *''Represented by Audrey Wood: A Memoir'', (co-writer with Audrey Wood) Doubleday: Garden City, NY (1981), *''The Moving Picture Boys'', 287 pages, Norton (1978), *''Every Day's a Matinee: Memoirs Scribbled on a Dressing Room Door'', 288 pages, Norton (1975) *''They're Playing Our Song: The Truth Behind the Words and Music of Three Generations'' 295 pages, Atheneum (1973), *''Memory lane, 1890 to 1925: Ragtime, Jazz, Foxtrot and Other Popular Music and Music Covers'', 88 pages, Studioart (1973), *''The Wit and Wisdom of Hollywood: From the Squaw Man to the Hatchet Man'', (compiler) Scribner (1971) *''The Beard'', a novel, Simon and Schuster, (1965) LCCN 65-23246 *''Cloud Seven,: A Comedy'', 84 pages, Dramatists Play Service, (1958) ASIN: B0007E1WQK (Note: NOT an ISBN) *''Yellow Submarine'' novelization (1968) *''Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River'' *"My Masterpiece", a novel, ww Norton Co., 1970, Lib Cong 77-116121

Plays

According to the "Internet Broadway DataBase": *''Mr. Williams and Miss Wood: A two-character play'', 42 pages, Dramatists Playservice (1990), ASIN: B0006EYAJW (Note: NOT an ISBN). This tribute to Audrey Wood and

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

received staged readings at the National Playwrights Conference of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and New Dramatists in 1989 *''A Musical Jubilee'' (Musical, Revue) ran November 13, 1975 – February 1, 1976 *''Cloud 7'' (Comedy) ran February 14, 1958 – February 22, 1958 *''Small Wonder'' (Musical, Revue) book by Wilk, ran September 15, 1948 – January 8, 1949

References

External links