Paddy Chayefsky
Paddy Chayefsky, born Sidney Chayefsky on January 29, 1923, in the Bronx, New York, was a prominent American screenwriter and playwright known for his influential contributions to television and film. Graduating from City College of New York, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II, which marked the beginning of his writing career as he started crafting stories during his recovery from an injury. Chayefsky gained recognition for his realistic portrayal of middle-class characters, often drawing from his own life experiences. His notable works include the Academy Award-winning screenplay for *Marty*, which he adapted from his television script, and other acclaimed films like *The Hospital* and *Network*, the latter known for its sharp satire of the television industry. Chayefsky also won a Tony Award for his Broadway play *The Tenth Man*. Despite his departure from television writing in the late 1950s, many of his teleplays found success in cinematic adaptations. He passed away from cancer on August 1, 1981, leaving behind a legacy marked by his unique voice and impactful storytelling.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Paddy Chayefsky
Dramatist
- Born: January 29, 1923
- Birthplace: Bronx, New York
- Died: August 1, 1981
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Sidney Chayefsky, who wrote more often as Paddy Chayefsky, was born January 29, 1923, in Bronx, N.Y. He graduated in 1943 from City College of New York and studied languages at Fordham University, N.Y. He served in the U.S. Army during World War Two, from 1943 to 1945, and began writing while recovering from an injury.
Chayefsky wrote short stories, radio scripts, and worked as a gag writer for Robert Q. Lewis in the late 1940’s. His first film script (uncredited) was a documentary, The True Glory (1945), with Garson Kanin. His first screenplay credit was for As Young as You Feel (1951) with Lamar Trotti.
He wrote television episodes of shows such as Danger and Manhunt in the early 1950’s before being attracted to television anthology dramas. His first original television script was Holiday Song (1952), and he specialized thereafter in original scripts rather than adaptations. His small-screen work came during the “golden age” of American television, where his realism helped shape the naturalistic style of TV drama in the 1950’s. Chayefsky often drew on his own experiences growing up in the Bronx for script inspiration, using average middle-class guys as his protagonists and focusing heavily on dialogue. He wrote eleven scripts for the Philco-Goodyear Playhouse. After 1956, he wrote only one more, an adaptation of his own 1961 play, Gideon. He won a Tony Award for best play for his Broadway script, The Tenth Man (1960).
One of his most popular television scripts was Marty (1953), a story about a homely man who finally ignores his friends’ witticisms about the kind of girl he might connect with and finds an unlikely romance. Chayefsky adapted the script into one of his most popular movies in 1955; it won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay and for Best Picture in 1955. Chayefsky left television writing a year later to concentrate on movie scripts. He also won Oscars for best screenplay for The Hospital (1971) and Network (1976), both of which used dark exaggeration to satirize practices in the medical and television fields. Network was a send-up of the TV industry in which Chayefsky had worked and what he felt it had become. Other popular screenplays he adapted from the works of others included The Americanization of Emily (1964) and the musical, Paint Your Wagon (1969).
Even though he had left television, and live drama was giving way to filmed TV shows, his teleplays kept their popularity in book form. Three more of his TV scripts became movies: The Catered Affair (1955, The Bachelor Party (1957), and Middle of the Night (1959). Gore Vidal adapted The Catered Affair and Chayefsky adapted the other two.
He wrote one other screenplay shortly before his death— Altered States (1980)—a science fiction premise based on his own 1978 novel of the same name. He had his name taken off the script credits, however, because of disagreements with Ken Russell, the director.
He married Susan Sackler in 1949 and had one son. Chayefsky died of cancer August 1, 1981.