Edmund H. North

Edmund Hall North (March 12, 1911 – August 28, 1990) was an American screenwriter who shared an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with Francis Ford Coppola in 1970 for their script for Patton.[1][2][3]

North wrote the screenplay for the 1951 science-fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still and is credited with creating the famous line from the film, "Klaatu barada nikto".[4]

He was a son of Bobby North and Stella Maury who performed in vaudeville and the Ziegfeld Follies.[1] North began writing plays while attending Culver Military Academy in Indiana and at Stanford University. As a major in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II, he made training and educational films.

North was a president of the screen branch of the Writers Guild of America in which he served on more than 40 committees, including the contract-bargaining panel.

North and his wife, Collette had two daughters. He lived in Brentwood, Los Angeles, and was 79 when he died.

  1. ^ a b Oliver, Myrna (August 30, 1990). "Edmund H. North; Shared Oscar for 'Patton' Screenplay". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  2. ^ Suid, Lawrence H. (2002). Guts and Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film. University Press of Kentucky pg. 267. ISBN 978-0-8131-9018-1.
  3. ^ Dale, Wanda (February 4, 1970). "'Patton' is a magnificent monument to a hero". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Shermer, Michael (December 11, 2008). "Reel Life: The Day the Earth Stood Still". Scientific American. Retrieved April 13, 2021.