Lawrence Marcus, a remarkable individual, was born in Beaver, Utah, during World War I. His journey as a writer began to unfold much later, during World War II, when he discovered his talent for writing while serving in the Army Air Force. Marcus's skills lay in scriptwriting for radio shows, which he developed without the traditional formal education, having only attended school up to the eighth grade.
Throughout his illustrious fifty-year writing career, Marcus showcased his exceptional abilities, earning numerous awards and nominations. He received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the 1980 film "Stunt Man." His writing also garnered the Writers Guild of America Award, the Golden Globe, a Christopher Award, and an Alfred Sloan Award.
One of his most notable works is the 1968 adaptation of the John Hasse novel "Me and the Arch Kook Petulia" for Richard Lester. The resulting movie, "Petulia," starred George C. Scott and Julie Christie and is considered by many to be one of the ten best movies of the decade.
Interestingly, Marcus initially attempted to bow out of working on the script for "Petulia," but Richard Lester's response, "Love the pages; hated the letter, work," convinced him to continue. Marcus also collaborated with Jim Morrison of The Doors fame, but unfortunately, Morrison destroyed the script and the project.
Throughout his career, Marcus worked with notable individuals, including Douglas Fairbanks III and Rosalind Russell, and even lived in Rome, where he developed feature films. He also traveled to South Africa for a story on diamond mining. His final project was work on a early 1990s project for Universal Studios and Paul Newman, tentatively entitled "Homesman."
In the 1980s, Marcus gave back to the community by teaching screenwriting at New York University, a remarkable achievement considering his own limited formal education. Not bad for a man who, despite having only an eighth grade education, went on to achieve so much in the world of writing.
