Ranald MacDougall (March 10, 1915 – December 12, 1973) was an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

who scripted such films as '' Mildred Pierce'' (1945), '' The Unsuspected'' (1947), ''

June Bride ''June Bride'' is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Bretaigne Windust. The screenplay, which was based on the unproduced play ''Feature for June'' by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for ...

'' (1948), and '' The Naked Jungle'' (1954), and shared screenwriting credit for 1963's ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

''. He also directed a number of films, including 1957's '' Man on Fire'' with

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and 1959's '' The World, the Flesh and the Devil'', both of which featured actress Inger Stevens.

Biography

Born in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Yo ...

, MacDougall came from an impoverished working-class family. His father was a crane operator and union organizer, whose frequent strikes forced MacDougall to leave school before finishing the eighth grade to help support the family. He held a variety of odd jobs and during the Great Depression found work as an usher at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

. He saw greater potential across the street in

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...

, where he was hired as a page, working alongside

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

. As a page MacDougall had the opportunity to closely observe the radio industry, and in his spare time he wrote and submitted scripts to his boss under pseudonyms, and was finally hired as a staff writer for

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

despite being underage at the time.

President, WGA

MacDougall was President of the

Writers Guild of America West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...

from 1971 until 1973.

Personal life

MacDougall was married to Lucille Brophy in 1939, by whom he had three children. Following their divorce, he married actress

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of var ...

in 1957 by whom he had another son. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in Pacific Palisades, California, at age 58.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacDougall, Ranald 1915 births 1973 deaths American male screenwriters American people of Scottish descent Screenwriters from New York (state) Writers from Schenectady, New York 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters