Biography
Frank Pierson was an American screenwriter, director and producer. Born in Chappaqua, New York, he served in the US Army during the Second World War and graduated from Harvard University with a degree in cultural anthropology. He began his career as a journalist before moving into television writing in the late 1950s.
Pierson received Academy Award nominations for his screenplays for Cat Ballou (1965) and Cool Hand Luke (1967). He won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Dog Day Afternoon (1975). He also directed the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born. In later years he served as a consulting producer and co-wrote an episode of Mad Men (2012), and wrote for The Good Wife (2010). He was president of the Writers Guild of America, West on two occasions and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2001 to 2005.
