Nelson Roosevelt Gidding (September 15, 1919 – May 2, 2004) was an American screenwriter specializing in film adaptation. A longtime collaboration with director Robert Wise began with Gidding's screenplay for I Want to Live! (1958), which earned him an Oscar nomination. His long-running course on screenwriting adaptions at the University of Southern California inspired screenwriters of the present generation, including David S. Goyer.
Gidding was born in New York City and attended school at Phillips Exeter Academy; as a young man he was friends with Norman Mailer. After graduating from Harvard University, he entered the Army Air Forces during World War II as the navigator on a Martin B-26 Marauder. His plane was shot down over Italy, but he survived; he spent 18 months as a POW but effected an escape. Returning from the war, in 1946 he published his only novel, End Over End, begun while captive in a German prison camp.
In 1949, Gidding married Hildegarde Colligan; together they had a son, Joshua Gidding, who today is a Seattle writer and college professor.
In Hollywood, Gidding entered work in television, writing for such series as Suspense and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, and eventually moved into feature films like The Helen Morgan Story (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), The Haunting (1963), Lost Command (1966), The Andromeda Strain (1971), and The Hindenburg (1975).
After the death of his first wife on June 13, 1995, in 1998 Gidding married Chun-Ling Wang, a Chinese immigrant.
Gidding taught at USC until his death from congestive heart failure at a Santa Monica hospital in 2004.
Filmography
Film Year Title Notes 1953The TriangleSegment "American Duel" 1957The Helen Morgan Story1958OnionheadI Want to Live! 1959Odds Against Tomorrow 1962Lisa1963The HauntingNine Hours to Rama 1966Lost Command 1970Skullduggery 1971The Andromeda Strain 1975The Hindenburg 1979Beyond the Poseidon Adventure 1987The Misfit Brigade 1991Journey of Honor 1993The Mummy lives
Television Year Title Notes1952Hallmark Hall of Fame1 EpisodeHollywood Opening Night1 Episode1953Rheingold Theater1 EpisodeThe Web1 Episode1954The Stranger2 EpisodesInner Sanctum3 EpisodesPresident for a DayTV movie produced as an episode of Hallmark Hall of Fame 1954–55The Man Behind the Badge12 Episodes1955Kraft Television Theatre1 EpisodeWarner Bros. Presents1 Episode 1955–56Casablanca5 Episodes 1955–57Sergeant Preston of the Yukon52 Episodes;Also story editor 1956Playwrights '561 Episode 1957Schlitz Playhouse of Stars2 Episodes 1960Bourbon Street Beat1 Episode 1972Banyon1 Episode 1983Casablanca1 EpisodeI Want to LiveTV movie
Bibliography
References
External links
Gidding documents from World War II