Ivan Moffat
Encyclopedia
Ivan Moffat was a British
screenwriter
and associate producer
who, with Fred Guiol
, was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for adapting Edna Ferber
's novel Giant into the film Giant.
actress and poet Iris Tree
and her American
husband photographer Curtis Moffat
, and the grandson of actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
, Ivan Moffat was born in Havana
in Cuba
in 1918. He was educated at Dartington Hall School in Totnes
in Devon
, and studied at the London School of Economics
. As an undergraduate, he joined the Communist Party
, an action for which he was blacklisted for a time while in Hollywood. Jessica Mitford
later described Moffat as "span[ning] the gap between Left-wing politics and the deb dance scene". When America entered World War II
Moffat enlisted as a writer in the Special Coverage Unit of the US Army Signal Corps, known as the "Hollywood Irregulars". He served under the director George Stevens
.
Moffat was a friend of Christopher Isherwood
, whom he met through his mother, Iris Tree
. "In 1946," Isherwood wrote, "Ivan was extremely cute and very like Dirk Bogarde
." Isherwood based the leading character in his first draft of Down There on a Visit
(1961) on Moffat, though the character later evolved into Isherwood himself. Patrick, in Isherwood's A Meeting by the River
(1967), is also partly based on Moffat.
, Moffat turned down the offer of a writing job with MGM
to become an associate producer
at George Stevens
's new company, Liberty Films. Amongst other films, Moffat worked on the screenplays for Giant, D-Day the Sixth of June
(1956), with Harry Brown, Bhowani Junction
(1956), Rossen's
They Came to Cordura
(1959), Tender Is the Night
(1962), The Heroes of Telemark
(1965), The Greatest Story Ever Told
(1965), and Black Sunday
(1977), as well as revising the screenplay for The Great Escape
(1963). For George Stevens
he served as Associate Producer on the classic movies Shane (1951) and A Place in the Sun (1953).
In the 1970s
Moffat wrote episodes for the television series Colditz
and in 1985 he wrote the story and co-wrote the script for the television film Florence Nightingale which starred Jaclyn Smith
as Nightingale.
Katharine Smith, the daughter of The Rt. Hon.
The 3rd Viscount Hambleden
, and with whom he had two sons, Jonathan (born 1964) and Patrick Moffat (born 1968) - again the marriage was dissolved. Lady Caroline Blackwood, the Anglo-Irish
author, revealed on her deathbed that Moffat was the father of her youngest daughter, Ivana Citkowitz (born 1966).
Ivan Moffat is the grandfather of singer songwriter, and actress Georgina Moffat
. He died on 4 July 2002, aged 84, in Los Angeles
, California
, from a stroke
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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:...
and associate producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
who, with Fred Guiol
Fred Guiol
Fred Guiol was an American film director and screenwriter. Guiol worked at the Hal Roach Studios for many years, and directed Laurel and Hardy's earliest short films, as their famous comic partnership gradually developed during 1927...
, was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for adapting Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big , Show Boat , and Giant .-Early years:Ferber was born August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan,...
's novel Giant into the film Giant.
Early life
The son of the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actress and poet Iris Tree
Iris Tree
Iris Tree was an English poet, actress and artists' model, described as a bohemian, an eccentric, a wit and an adventuress....
and her American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
husband photographer Curtis Moffat
Curtis Moffat
Curtis Moffat was an abstract photographer, color still life and society portraitist. At times he collaborated with Man Ray.-Biography:...
, and the grandson of actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
, Ivan Moffat was born in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in 1918. He was educated at Dartington Hall School in Totnes
Totnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, and studied at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. As an undergraduate, he joined the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
, an action for which he was blacklisted for a time while in Hollywood. Jessica Mitford
Jessica Mitford
Jessica Lucy Freeman-Mitford was an English author, journalist and political campaigner, who was one of the Mitford sisters...
later described Moffat as "span[ning] the gap between Left-wing politics and the deb dance scene". When America entered 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...
Moffat enlisted as a writer in the Special Coverage Unit of the US Army Signal Corps, known as the "Hollywood Irregulars". He served under the director George Stevens
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
.
Moffat was a friend of Christopher Isherwood
Christopher Isherwood
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood was an English-American novelist.-Early life and work:Born at Wyberslegh Hall, High Lane, Cheshire in North West England, Isherwood spent his childhood in various towns where his father, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, was stationed...
, whom he met through his mother, Iris Tree
Iris Tree
Iris Tree was an English poet, actress and artists' model, described as a bohemian, an eccentric, a wit and an adventuress....
. "In 1946," Isherwood wrote, "Ivan was extremely cute and very like Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
." Isherwood based the leading character in his first draft of Down There on a Visit
Down There on a Visit
Down There on a visit is the 1962 novel from English author Christopher Isherwood.Through his political advocacy and the literary success of his friends, Auden and Spender, Christopher Isherwood became something of a literary rockstar...
(1961) on Moffat, though the character later evolved into Isherwood himself. Patrick, in Isherwood's A Meeting by the River
A Meeting by the River
A Meeting by the River is an album by Ry Cooder and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, released in April 1993 through the record label Water Lily Acoustics. Recorded in September 1992, the improvised collaborative album features Cooder on slide guitar and Bhatt on the Mohan veena, a stringed instrument created by...
(1967), is also partly based on Moffat.
Film career
Moving to Hollywood after the WarWorld 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...
, Moffat turned down the offer of a writing job with MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
to become an associate producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
at George Stevens
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
's new company, Liberty Films. Amongst other films, Moffat worked on the screenplays for Giant, D-Day the Sixth of June
D-Day the Sixth of June
D-Day the Sixth of June is a 1956 romantic war film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Henry Koster and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Ivan Moffat and Harry Brown, based on the novel, The Sixth of June by Lionel Shapiro....
(1956), with Harry Brown, Bhowani Junction
Bhowani Junction (film)
Bhowani Junction is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1952 novel Bhowani Junction by John Masters made by MGM. The film was directed by George Cukor and produced by Pandro S...
(1956), Rossen's
Robert Rossen
Robert Rossen was an American screenwriter, film director, and producer whose film career spanned almost three decades. His 1949 film All the King's Men won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, while Rossen was nominated for an Oscar as Best Director...
They Came to Cordura
They Came To Cordura
They Came To Cordura is a 1959 Western film co-written and directed by Robert Rossen, starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, and featuring Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Richard Conte, Michael Callan, and Dick York. It was based on a 1958 novel by Glendon Swarthout.-Plot:Tom Thorn is a U.S...
(1959), Tender Is the Night
Tender is the Night (1962 film)
Tender Is the Night is a 1962 film directed by Henry King, based on the novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The soundtrack featured a song, also called "Tender Is the Night", by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster , which was nominated for the 1962 Academy Award for Best Song...
(1962), The Heroes of Telemark
The Heroes of Telemark
The Heroes of Telemark is a 1965 war film directed by Anthony Mann based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World War II...
(1965), The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 American epic film produced and directed by George Stevens and distributed by United Artists. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast and for being the last...
(1965), and Black Sunday
Black Sunday (1977 film)
Black Sunday is a 1977 American thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and based on the novel by Thomas Harris. The film starred Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, and Marthe Keller and was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture in 1978...
(1977), as well as revising the screenplay for The Great Escape
The Great Escape (film)
The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
(1963). For George Stevens
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
he served as Associate Producer on the classic movies Shane (1951) and A Place in the Sun (1953).
In the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
Moffat wrote episodes for the television series Colditz
Colditz (TV series)
Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974.The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to...
and in 1985 he wrote the story and co-wrote the script for the television film Florence Nightingale which starred Jaclyn Smith
Jaclyn Smith
Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best-known for the role of Kelly Garrett in the television series Charlie's Angels, and was the only original female lead to remain with the series for its complete run...
as Nightingale.
Personal life
Moffat married first Natasha Sorokin, with whom he had one daughter, Lorna Moffat - the marriage was dissolved. Secondly, in 1961 he married The Hon.The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Katharine Smith, the daughter of The Rt. Hon.
The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
The 3rd Viscount Hambleden
William Smith, 3rd Viscount Hambleden
The Rt. Hon. William Henry Smith, 3rd Viscount Hambleden , was a British peer and descendant of the founders of stationery group W H Smith. Lord Hambleden was educated at Eton College and Oxford University...
, and with whom he had two sons, Jonathan (born 1964) and Patrick Moffat (born 1968) - again the marriage was dissolved. Lady Caroline Blackwood, the Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
author, revealed on her deathbed that Moffat was the father of her youngest daughter, Ivana Citkowitz (born 1966).
Ivan Moffat is the grandfather of singer songwriter, and actress Georgina Moffat
Georgina Moffat
Georgina Moffat is an Australian / English singer-songwriter, actress and model. Georgina currently uses an alias for her music career. She is the great granddaughter of poet, actress and muse Iris Tree, the granddaughter of Ivan Moffat, and the great great granddaughter of RADA founder Sir...
. He died on 4 July 2002, aged 84, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, from a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
.
External links
- http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/person.jsp?id=26534Moffat on Channel 4 FilmChannel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
] - Moffat on thePeerage.com
- Moffat on The Oscar Site