---
name: "Kurt Luedtke"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/kurt-luedtke"
fi1m_id: "kurt-luedtke"
imdb_id: "nm0525104"
tmdb_id: 10637
wikidata_id: "Q1793822"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "28 September 1939"
died: "9 August 2020"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 64
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-04T17:25:11.596577+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."
---

# Kurt Luedtke

## Identity

Kurt Luedtke

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/kurt-luedtke
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** kurt-luedtke
- **IMDb ID:** nm0525104
- **TMDB ID:** 10637
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1793822
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Luedtke, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1793822, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0525104/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10637

Writer. Born 28 September 1939 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.. Died 9 August 2020.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 28 September 1939, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
- **Died:** 9 August 2020
- **Active:** 1981–1985
- **Frequently works with:** [Sydney Pollack](https://film.one/person/sydney-pollack.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 64, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Luedtke, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1793822, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0525104/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10637

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Absence of Malice*](https://film.one/film/absence-of-malice.md) (73)
- **Netflix:** [*Out of Africa*](https://film.one/film/out-of-africa.md) (54)

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

## Biography

Kurt Luedtke (28 September 1939 – 9 August 2020) was an American screenwriter. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he graduated from Brown University in 1961 and worked as a journalist, rising to executive editor of the *Detroit Free Press* at the age of 33 before leaving the newspaper in 1978 to pursue screenwriting.

His first screenplay, *Absence of Malice* (1981), directed by Sydney Pollack, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He collaborated again with Pollack on *Out of Africa* (1985), winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Their third film together was *Random Hearts* (1999). All three were directed by Pollack.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Out of Africa* (1985), Fi1m 54, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/out-of-africa.md)
- *Absence of Malice* (1981), Fi1m 73, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/absence-of-malice.md)

## Complete filmography (3)

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

- *Random Hearts* (1999), Screenplay
- *Out of Africa* (1985), Screenplay — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/out-of-africa.md)
- *Absence of Malice* (1981), Writer — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/absence-of-malice.md)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 1986: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won), for *Out of Africa*
- 1982: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Absence of Malice*

*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/kurt-luedtke