---
name: "John Gay"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-gay"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "1 April 1924"
died: "4 February 2017"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 68
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T04:08:13.908744+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Gay

Writer. Born 1 April 1924 in Whittier, California, USA. Died 4 February 2017.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 1 April 1924, Whittier, California, USA
- **Died:** 4 February 2017
- **Active:** 1958–1969
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 1 acting, 2 writing
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 68, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1950s 74 (1), 1960s 72 (2)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gay_(screenwriter), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3181567, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0310775/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19573

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Separate Tables*](https://film.one/film/separate-tables.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

John Gay was an American screenwriter. Born in Whittier, California, on 1 April 1924, he began his career writing for television anthology series during the Golden Age of Television before making his film debut with the screenplay for *Run Silent, Run Deep* (1958).

His film credits include *Separate Tables* (1958), for which he shared an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay with Terence Rattigan, *The Courtship of Eddie's Father* (1963), *The Hallelujah Trail* (1965), *No Way to Treat a Lady* (1968), *Soldier Blue* (1970) and *Sometimes a Great Notion* (1971). He also wrote numerous television adaptations of literary works, including *Ivanhoe* (1982) and *Around the World in 80 Days* (1989).

Gay served on the board of the Writers Guild of America West and received its Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement in 1984. He died in Santa Monica, California, on 4 February 2017.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com, variety.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

### Performed in (1)

- *On Her Majesty's Secret Service* (1969), Fi1m 83, as Hammond — [page](https://film.one/film/on-her-majestys-secret-service.md)

### Wrote (2) — the average rests on these

- *How the West Was Won* (1962), Fi1m 62, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-west-was-won.md)
- *Separate Tables* (1958), Fi1m 74, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/separate-tables.md)

## Complete filmography (62)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *National Theatre Live: The Threepenny Opera* (2016), Writer
- *Cruel Doubt* (1992), series, Writer
- *Trial: The Price of Passion* (1992), Teleplay
- *The Burden of Proof* (1992), series, Writer
- *Shadow of a Doubt* (1991), Writer
- *Blind Faith* (1990), series, Teleplay
- *Final Notice* (1989), Teleplay
- *Around the World in 80 Days* (1989), series, Writer, Creator
- *Inherit the Wind* (1988), Writer
- *Windmills of the Gods* (1988), series, Writer
- *Uncle Tom's Cabin* (1987), Teleplay
- *Six Against the Rock* (1987), Teleplay
- *Manhunt for Claude Dallas* (1986), Writer
- *Doubletake* (1985), Teleplay
- *Fatal Vision* (1984), series, Screenplay
- *Samson and Delilah* (1984), Writer
- *Witness for the Prosecution* (1982), Screenplay
- *Ivanhoe* (1982), Writer
- *A Piano for Mrs. Cimino* (1982), Writer
- *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1982), Writer
- *The Long Summer of George Adams* (1982), Writer
- *Stand by Your Man* (1981), Writer
- *The Bunker* (1981), Screenplay
- *Dial M for Murder* (1981), Writer
- *Berlin Tunnel 21* (1981), Screenplay
- *A Tale of Two Cities* (1980), Screenplay
- *A Private Battle* (1980), Writer
- *Transplant* (1979), Writer
- *Les Misérables* (1978), Screenplay
- *Captains Courageous* (1977), Writer
- *The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer* (1977), Teleplay
- *Kill Me If You Can* (1977), Writer
- *The Amazing Howard Hughes* (1977), Writer
- *The Amazing Howard Hughes* (1977), series, Writer
- *A Matter of Time* (1976), Screenplay
- *Hennessy* (1975), Screenplay
- *Adventures of the Queen* (1975), Teleplay
- *The Red Badge of Courage* (1974), Writer
- *Things in Their Season* (1974), Writer
- *The Chadwick Family* (1974), Writer
- *My Darling Daughters' Anniversary* (1973), Writer
- *All My Darling Daughters* (1972), Teleplay
- *Pocket Money* (1972), Adaptation
- *Sometimes a Great Notion* (1971), Screenplay
- *Soldier Blue* (1970), Screenplay
- *On Her Majesty's Secret Service* (1969), as Hammond — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/on-her-majestys-secret-service.md)
- *No Way to Treat a Lady* (1968), Screenplay
- *The Power* (1968), Screenplay
- *The Last Safari* (1967), Writer
- *The Hallelujah Trail* (1965), Screenplay
- *Espionage* (1963), series, Writer
- *The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters* (1963), series, Writer
- *The Courtship of Eddie's Father* (1963), Screenplay
- *How the West Was Won* (1962), Writer — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-west-was-won.md)
- *The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse* (1962), Screenplay
- *The Happy Thieves* (1961), Screenplay
- *The Americans* (1961), series, Writer
- *Separate Tables* (1958), Screenplay — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/separate-tables.md)
- *Run Silent, Run Deep* (1958), Screenplay
- *Armchair Theatre* (1956), series, Writer
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, Writer
- *Goodyear Television Playhouse* (1951), series, Writer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1959: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Separate Tables*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-gay