Nedrick Young (March 23, 1914 – September 16, 1968), also known by the pseudonym Nathan E. Douglas, was an American actor and screenwriter often

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

during the 1950s and 1960s for refusing to confirm or deny membership of the Communist Party before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA). He is credited with writing the screenplay for '' Jailhouse Rock'' in 1957, which starred

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. Young was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. In addition to screenwriting, he also took acting roles in various feature-length films during the period 1943–1966.

Recognition

''The Defiant Ones'' received an Oscar for the "best screenplay written directly for the screen" in 1958. For the same film, Young and co-writer Harold Jacob Smith won a 1959

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

for Best Motion Picture Screenplay, from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

. ''Inherit the Wind'' was also nominated for, but did not win, an Academy Award in 1960. The same year he and others brought a law suit against the

Motion Picture Association The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

(MPAA) for thirteen years of blacklisting. The suit was not successful.

Filmography

Actor *1943: '' Bombs Over Burma'' - Slim Jenkins *1943: '' Dead Men Walk'' - Dr. David Bentley *1943: ''

Ladies' Day ''Ladies' Day'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Leslie Goodwins and written by Charles E. Roberts and Dane Lussier, adapted from the play of the same name. The film stars Lupe Vélez, Eddie Albert, Patsy Kelly, Max Baer and Jerome C ...

'' - Tony D'Angelo *1946: ''

Gay Blades ''Gay Blades'' is a 1946 American comedy film directed by George Blair and written by Albert Beich and Marcy Klauber. The film stars Allan Lane, Jean Rogers, Edward Ashley, Frank Albertson, Ann Gillis and Robert Armstrong. The film was relea ...

'' - Gary Lester *1946: '' The Devil's Playground'' - Curly Evans *1947: '' Unexpected Guest'' - Ralph Baxter *1948: '' The Swordsman'' - Bruce Glowan *1948: '' The Gallant Blade'' - Sergeant Martine *1949: ''

Calamity Jane and Sam Bass ''Calamity Jane and Sam Bass'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Yvonne de Carlo, Howard Duff and Dorothy Hart. Plot Sheriff Will Egan doesn't want any gamblers in Denton, Texas and is suspicious when str ...

'' - Parsons (uncredited) *1949: '' Border Incident'' - Happy (uncredited) *1950: '' Gun Crazy'' - Dave Allister *1950: '' Love That Brute'' - Rocky (uncredited) *1950: '' A Lady Without Passport'' - Harry Nordell *1951: '' Inside Straight'' - Accountant (uncredited) *1952: '' Retreat, Hell!'' - Sgt. Novak (credited: Ned Young) *1952: ''

Aladdin and His Lamp ''Aladdin and His Lamp'' is a 1952 film directed by Lew Landers and starring Johnny Sands and Patricia Medina. Plot A poor young man finds a lamp with a genie trapped inside. The genie promises to grant the man three wishes if he frees him fr ...

'' - Hassan *1952: ''

Springfield Rifle The term Springfield rifle may refer to any one of several types of small arms produced by the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the United States armed forces. In modern usage, the term "Springfield rifle" most commonly refer ...

'' - Sgt. Poole (uncredited) *1952: '' The Iron Mistress'' - Henri Contrecourt *1953: '' She's Back on Broadway'' - Rafferty *1953: ''

Captain Scarlett ''Captain Scarlett'' is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Thomas Carr, that was shot in Mexico. The film is set in France following the fall of Napoleon, stars Richard Greene in the title role as a Robin Hood-type avenger and the Br ...

'' - Pierre DuCloux *1953: '' House of Wax'' - Leon Averill (uncredited) *1953: '' So This Is Love'' - Harry Corbett (uncredited) *1953: '' Crime Wave'' - Gat Morgan *1953: '' The Eddie Cantor Story'' - Jack (uncredited) *1958: '' The Defiant Ones'' - Prison Guard in Truck (uncredited) *1958: ''

Terror in a Texas Town ''Terror in a Texas Town'' is a 1958 American Western film directed by Joseph H. Lewis (billed only as "Joseph Lewis") and starring Sterling Hayden, Nedrick Young, and Sebastian Cabot. The script of ''Terror in a Texas Town'' was written by ...

'' - John Crale *1966: ''

Seconds The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

'' - Henry Bushman (final film role) Screenplay *1957: '' Jailhouse Rock'' *1958: '' The Defiant Ones'' *1960: '' Inherit the Wind'' *1968: '' Shadow on the Land''

Personal life and death

He was married to actress Elizabeth MacRae. Young died from a heart attack at the age of 54.

References

External links

*
1958 Academy AwardsFour Word Film Review: Nedrick YoungTrailer for ''The Defiant One'', documentary about Nedrick Young and the Hollywood blacklist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Nedrick 1914 births 1968 deaths Male actors from Philadelphia American male screenwriters American male film actors Hollywood blacklist Edgar Award winners Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners 20th-century American male actors Writers from Philadelphia Screenwriters from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters