Dalton Trumbo American screenwriter and novelist Date of Birth: 09.12.1905 Country: USA

1. Biography of Dalton Trumbo
2. The Blacklist and Imprisonment
3. Recovery and Success
4. Later Works and Death
5. Dalton Trumbo died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the age of 70.

Biography of Dalton Trumbo

Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and writer, and one of the Hollywood Ten filmmakers who testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. He was born in Montrose, Colorado and during his school years, he worked as a reporter for a local newspaper, covering the activities of various civil organizations, including schools and courts. He continued his journalism career at the University of Colorado. Trumbo began his professional career by collaborating with Vogue magazine. His first published work, "Eclipse," was written in the genre of social realism and depicted the lives of ordinary people.

The Blacklist and Imprisonment

In 1947, Trumbo, along with nine other writers and directors, appeared in court as a key witness for the Committee. Trumbo refused to provide information, which was considered contempt of Congress, resulting in his name being blacklisted. In 1950, he spent 11 months in the federal prison in Ashland, Kentucky. After being blacklisted, some Hollywood actors and directors, such as Elia Kazan and Clifford Odets, agreed to testify and name individuals who had collaborated with the Communist Party to the Committee. Many of those who testified were immediately ostracized and condemned by their former friends and colleagues. However, Trumbo always maintained that those who testified under the pressure of the Committee and the studios were equally victims of the "Red Scare," just like himself.

Recovery and Success

After his imprisonment, Trumbo moved to Mexico with his family. There, he continued writing, but had to use pseudonyms. In 1956, the film "The Brave One" won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, written by Trumbo under the pseudonym "Robert Rich." With the support of Otto Preminger, Trumbo received a commission to write the screenplay for the film "Exodus." Immediately after that, Kirk Douglas managed to obtain permission for him to work on the film "Spartacus." All of this marked the end of the "witch hunt," and Trumbo was reinstated in the Writers Guild of America, West. The works written under pseudonyms were attributed to their true author, and in 1993, Dalton Trumbo was posthumously awarded an Oscar for the screenplay of the film "Roman Holiday," which had previously been credited to someone else.

Later Works and Death

In 1971, Dalton Trumbo directed the film "Johnny Got His Gun," which was an adaptation of his own literary work. One of his last film works, "Executive Action," was based on various conspiracy theories about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. His journalistic work "The Devil in the Book" is also an example of deep analysis of political life, dedicated to the Smith Act.

Dalton Trumbo died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the age of 70.