Donald S. Sanford
Encyclopedia
Donald S. Sanford was an American
television
, radio
and film
screenwriter
. Sanford was known for his work on numerous television series, as well as his role as the author of the screenplay
for the 1976 World War II
film Midway
, starring Charlton Heston
and Henry Fonda
, which became a cult classic
.
soundman in the United States Navy
from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.
Sanford began his career, initially in radio and television, after leaving the U.S. Navy. He began writing for the radio series Martin Kane, Private Eye
, during the early 1950s. Sanford segued to television in the 1950s, and his professional credits ultimately included episodes of Gunsmoke
, Bonanza
, Dr. Kildare
, Letter to Loretta, Perry Mason
and The Outer Limits, among others.
Sanford's film screenplay credits during the 1960s included three feature films set during the World War II era: Submarine X-1
, The Thousand Plane Raid
, and Mosquito Squadron
, all of which were released in 1969. However, Sanford's best-known screenplay was for the 1976 World War II film Midway, which was directed by Jack Smight
and starred Charlton Heston.
Sanford's last screenwriting credit before his retirement was for the 1979 sci-fi film Ravagers
. He later became chief executive officer
of Stansbury, Inc., a mining company specializing in vermiculite
. He remained active in the screenwriting industry, serving on the Pension and Health Finance Committee for the Writers Guild of American Pension and Health Fund. Sanford was also a full member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
and the Writers Guild of America
.
Donald S. Sanford died at a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 8, 2011, at the age of 92. He was survived by his wife of 35 years, Teddi, and his three stepchildren, Jennifer Levison, Daniel Levison, and Michael Levison.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. Sanford was known for his work on numerous television series, as well as his role as the author of the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
for the 1976 World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
film Midway
Midway (film)
Midway is a 1976 war film directed by Jack Smight and produced byWalter Mirisch from a screenplay by Donald S. Sanford. The music score was by John Williams and the cinematography by Harry Stradling, Jr...
, starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
and Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, which became a cult classic
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
.
Biography
Sanford was born March 17, 1918. He served as a chief sonarSonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
soundman in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.
Sanford began his career, initially in radio and television, after leaving the U.S. Navy. He began writing for the radio series Martin Kane, Private Eye
Martin Kane, Private Eye
Martin Kane, Private Eye was an early radio series and television crime series sponsored by United States Tobacco Company.- Radio:Martin Kane, Private Eye began as a 1949-52 radio series starring William Gargan in the title rôle as New York City private detective Martin Kane...
, during the early 1950s. Sanford segued to television in the 1950s, and his professional credits ultimately included episodes of Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
, Letter to Loretta, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
and The Outer Limits, among others.
Sanford's film screenplay credits during the 1960s included three feature films set during the World War II era: Submarine X-1
Submarine X-1
Submarine X-1 is a 1969 British World War II war film loosely based on the Operation Source attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in 1943. In the film James Caan stars as Lt...
, The Thousand Plane Raid
The Thousand Plane Raid
The Thousand Plane Raid is a 1969 film directed by Boris Sagal. It stars Christopher George and Laraine Stephens...
, and Mosquito Squadron
Mosquito Squadron
#Mosquito Squadron is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum, with a memorable music score , which was composed and conducted by Frank Cordell.-Plot:During a Second World War Royal Air Force attack against German V-1...
, all of which were released in 1969. However, Sanford's best-known screenplay was for the 1976 World War II film Midway, which was directed by Jack Smight
Jack Smight
Jack Smight was an American theatre and film director.Smight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and went to school with future actor Peter Graves...
and starred Charlton Heston.
Sanford's last screenwriting credit before his retirement was for the 1979 sci-fi film Ravagers
Ravagers (1979 film)
Ravagers is a 1979 film directed by Richard Compton and based on the novel by Robert Edmond Alter. In the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust survivors do what they can to protect themselves against ravagers, a mutated group of vicious marauders who terrorize the few remaining civilized...
. He later became chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Stansbury, Inc., a mining company specializing in vermiculite
Vermiculite
Vermiculite is a natural mineral that expands with the application of heat. The expansion process is called exfoliation and it is routinely accomplished in purpose-designed commercial furnaces. Vermiculite is formed by weathering or hydrothermal alteration of biotite or phlogopite...
. He remained active in the screenwriting industry, serving on the Pension and Health Finance Committee for the Writers Guild of American Pension and Health Fund. Sanford was also a full member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
and the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
.
Donald S. Sanford died at a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 8, 2011, at the age of 92. He was survived by his wife of 35 years, Teddi, and his three stepchildren, Jennifer Levison, Daniel Levison, and Michael Levison.