Stirling Silliphant

de Nat Segaloff

During the 1950s and 1960s it seemed that every TV show was written by Stirling Silliphant. His scripts for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Tightrope," "Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre," "Perry Mason," and, of course, "Naked City" and "Route 66" made him Hollywood's most produced writer. Later he dominated the disaster film cycle with "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno," brought martial arts phenomenon Bruce Lee to screen prominence with "Marlowe" and "Longstreet," won an Oscar for "In the Heat of the Night," and helped create the TV mini-series. He lived the life of a movie star, not a movie writer, attending A-list parties, sailing his yacht around the world, driving posh cars, and turning out one hit after another. But it came at a price: four marriages, estranged children, a son's death, and, ultimately, expatriation.