---
name: "Robert Getchell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/robert-getchell"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "6 December 1936"
died: "21 October 2017"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T05:50:40.088446+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."
---

# Robert Getchell

Writer. Born 6 December 1936 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Died 21 October 2017.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 6 December 1936, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- **Died:** 21 October 2017
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Getchell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2157280, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0315205/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/53810

## Biography

Robert Getchell (6 December 1936 – 21 October 2017) was an American screenwriter. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he graduated from the University of Missouri in 1965 and later taught literature at that university and at the University of Miami in Ohio.

His first produced screenplay was *Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore* (1974), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He created the long-running CBS sitcom *Alice* (1976–1985) based on the film. Getchell earned a second Oscar nomination for his adaptation of *Bound for Glory* (1976). Subsequent credits include *Mommie Dearest* (1981), *Sweet Dreams* (1985), *Stella* (1990), *Point of No Return* (1993), *This Boy's Life* (1993) and *The Client* (1994).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com, imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Bound for Glory* (1976), Fi1m 71, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/bound-for-glory.md)

## Complete filmography (9)

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

- *The Client* (1994), Screenplay
- *This Boy's Life* (1993), Screenplay
- *Point of No Return* (1993), Screenplay
- *Stella* (1990), Screenplay
- *Sweet Dreams* (1985), Writer
- *Mommie Dearest* (1981), Screenplay
- *Bound for Glory* (1976), Screenplay — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/film/bound-for-glory.md)
- *Alice* (1976), series, Writer, Creator
- *Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore* (1974), Writer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1977: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *Bound for Glory*
- 1975: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay 1982: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay (won), for *Mommie Dearest*

*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/robert-getchell