---
name: "Stirling Silliphant"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/stirling-silliphant"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "15 January 1918"
died: "26 April 1996"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T05:42:36.414477+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."
---

# Stirling Silliphant

Writer. Born 15 January 1918 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Died 26 April 1996.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 15 January 1918, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- **Died:** 26 April 1996
- **Active:** 1967–1974
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 85 (1), 1970s 68 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_Silliphant, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q347945, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0798103/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6779

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*In the Heat of the Night*](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night.md) (85)

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

## Biography

Stirling Silliphant was an American screenwriter and producer. Born in Detroit, Michigan, on 15 January 1918, he died in Bangkok on 26 April 1996. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1938 and worked in publicity before becoming a screenwriter in the mid-1950s.

Silliphant wrote or co-wrote dozens of television episodes and created the series *Route 66* and *Naked City*. His film screenplays include *Village of the Damned* (1960), *In the Heat of the Night* (1967), *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972), *The Towering Inferno* (1974), *The Enforcer* (1976) and *Over the Top* (1987).

*In the Heat of the Night* earned him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as an Edgar Award. He also received Golden Globe Awards for his screenplays for *In the Heat of the Night* and *Charly* (1968).

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Towering Inferno* (1974), Fi1m 68, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-towering-inferno.md)
- *In the Heat of the Night* (1967), Fi1m 85, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night.md)

## Complete filmography (63)

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

- *The General And Me* (2017), Writer
- *The Grass Harp* (1996), Screenplay, Co-Producer
- *Day of Reckoning* (1994), Writer
- *A Stranger in the Mirror* (1993), Teleplay
- *Salween* (1993), Writer
- *Brotherhood of the Rose* (1989), series, Producer
- *The Three Kings* (1987), Writer
- *Catch the Heat* (1987), Writer, Executive Producer
- *Over the Top* (1987), Screenplay
- *Mussolini: The Untold Story* (1985), series, Writer
- *Space* (1985), series, Teleplay
- *Travis McGee* (1983), Teleplay
- *Golden Gate* (1981), Writer
- *Fly Away Home* (1981), Writer, Producer
- *When Time Ran Out...* (1980), Screenplay
- *Salem's Lot* (1979), series, Executive Producer
- *Pearl* (1978), series, Writer
- *Circle of Iron* (1978), Screenplay, Story
- *The Swarm* (1978), Screenplay
- *Telefon* (1977), Screenplay
- *The Enforcer* (1976), Screenplay
- *The Killer Elite* (1975), Screenplay
- *Death Scream* (1975), Writer
- *The First 36 Hours of Dr. Durant* (1975), Writer
- *The Towering Inferno* (1974), Screenplay — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/the-towering-inferno.md)
- *Shaft in Africa* (1973), Writer, Producer
- *A Time For Love* (1973), Producer, Writer, Director
- *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972), Screenplay
- *The New Centurions* (1972), Screenplay
- *The New Healers* (1972), Writer, Creator, Producer
- *Movin' On* (1972), Original Series Creator
- *Longstreet* (1971), series, Writer, Producer, Creator
- *Shaft* (1971), Executive Producer
- *Longstreet* (1971), Writer
- *Murphy's War* (1971), Screenplay
- *A Walk in the Spring Rain* (1970), Screenplay, Producer
- *The Liberation of L.B. Jones* (1970), Screenplay
- *Marlowe* (1969), Screenplay
- *Charly* (1968), Screenplay
- *In the Heat of the Night* (1967), Screenplay — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/in-the-heat-of-the-night.md)
- *Wings of Fire* (1967), Writer
- *The Slender Thread* (1965), Writer
- *Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing* (1962), Writer
- *Route 66* (1960), series, Writer, Creator
- *Village of the Damned* (1960), Screenplay
- *Mr. Lucky* (1959), series, Writer
- *The Man from Blackhawk* (1959), series, Creator
- *Tightrope* (1959), series, Writer
- *The Silent Kill* (1959), Writer
- *Naked City* (1958), series, Writer, Creator
- *The Lineup* (1958), Writer
- *Maracaibo* (1958), Screenplay
- *Damn Citizen* (1958), Writer
- *Suspicion* (1957), series, Writer
- *Alcoa Theatre* (1957), series, Writer
- *Perry Mason* (1957), series, Writer
- *M Squad* (1957), series, Writer
- *Nightfall* (1956), Writer
- *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, Writer
- *Huk!* (1956), Novel, Screenplay
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, Writer, Teleplay
- *5 Against the House* (1955), Screenplay, Producer
- *The Joe Louis Story* (1953), Producer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 1968: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won), for *In the Heat of the Night*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Edgar Awards 1968: Edgar Awards (won)

*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/stirling-silliphant