# Don Mankiewicz

Don Martin Mankiewicz (January 20, 1922 – April 25, 2015) was an American screenwriter and novelist best known for his novel Trial.

## Early life

Born in Berlin, Germany, he was the son of Sara (née Aaronson) and the screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and brother of journalist Frank Mankiewicz. He graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1942.

## Career

His 1955 novel Trial won the Harper Prize and was made into a film of the same name. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for I Want to Live! (1958). Among his many television credits are Ironside, for which he wrote the pilot, the Star Trek episode "Court Martial", and the mini-series adaptation of President John F. Kennedy's book Profiles in Courage. His college classmate, the novelist and journalist, Gordon Cotler [fr] was a frequent creative partner, including: Lanigan's Rabbi, Rosetti and Ryan, The Bait, McMillan & Wife, and The Black Bird.

## Personal life

Mankiewicz married Ilene Korsen on March 26, 1946, and divorced her in 1972. He married Carol Bell Guidi on July 1, 1972. Mankiewicz had 2 children with Ilene (Jane and John). He had two children with Carol (Jan and Sandy). His son is screenwriter and producer John Mankiewicz. Jane is a fiction writer published in The New Yorker.

### Death

Mankiewicz died on April 25, 2015, at his home in Monrovia, California at age 93 of congestive heart failure. He was survived by his wife of 40 years and his four children.

## Novels

* See How They Run (1951)
* Trial (1955)
* It Only Hurts a Minute (1966)

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Film | Credit | Notes |
| 1953 | Fast Company | Adaption by | |
| 1954 | The Big Moment | Written by | |
| 1955 | Trial | Written by | Based on the novel of the same name |
| 1957 | House Of Numbers | Screenplay by | Co-Wrote screenplay with Russell Rouse, Based on the novel House Of Numbers by Jack Finney |
| 1958 | Le imprese di una spada leggendaria | Screenplay by | |
| 1958 | I Want to Live! | Screenplay by | Co-Wrote screenplay with Nelson Gidding |
| 1962 | The Chapman Report | Screenplay by | Co-Wrote screenplay with Wyatt Emory Cooper, Gene Allen, and Grant Stuart, Based on the novel The Chapman Report by Irving Wallace |
| 1962 | The Road to the Wall | Screenplay by | |
| 1965 | Who Has Seen the Wind? | Screenplay by | Based on the novel The Land Bird By Tad Mosel |
| 1967 | A Man Called Ironside | Screenplay by | Co-Wrote screenplay with Collier Young, TV Pilot for "Ironside" |
| 1968 | Split Second to an Epitaph | Screenplay by | Co-Wrote screenplay with Sy Salkowitz |
| 1973 | The Bait | Screenplay by | Co-Wrote screenplay with Gordon Colter, Based on the novel "The Bait" by Dorothy Uhnak |
| 1975 | The Black Bird | Story by | Co-Wrote Story with Gordon Colter |
| 1979 | Sanctuary of Fear | Screenplay by, Supervising Producer | |
| 1983 | I Want to Live | Screenplay by | Remake of the 1958 Film of The Same Name |

### Television

| Year | TV Series | Credit | Notes |
| 1950-53 | Studio One in Hollywood | Writer | 2 Episodes |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1953 | Your Jeweler's Showcase | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1955 | TV Reader's Digest | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1955 | Lux Video Theatre | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1955 | The Joseph Cotten Show | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1955 | Star Stage | Writer | 2 Episodes |
| 1956 | The Ford Television Theater | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1957 | Playhouse 90 | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1958 | Kraft Television Theatre | Writer | 2 Episodes |
| 1959 | Armchair Theatre | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1959-61 | One Step Beyond | Writer | 6 Episodes |
| 1961 | Bus Stop | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1961-63 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Writer | 4 Episodes |
| 1962 | The DuPont Show of the Week | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1962 | General Electric Theater | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1964-65 | Profiles in Courage | Writer | 6 Episodes |
| 1966 | Hawk | Writer | 2 Episodes |
| 1966 | The Trials of O'Brien | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1967 | Star Trek: The Original Series | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1967-68 | Ironside | Writer | 5 Episodes |
| 1969 | Mannix | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1969-70 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Writer | 2 Episodes |
| 1971 | Sarge | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1973-77 | McMillan & Wife | Writer | 3 Episodes |
| 1976-77 | Lanigan's Rabbi | Writer, Supervising Producer | 2 Episodes |
| 1977 | Rosetti and Ryan | Writer | 2 Episodes |
| 1982-83 | Hart to Hart | Executive Script Consultant | 14 Episodes |
| 1983 | Simon & Simon | Writer, Executive Story Consultant | |
| 1983 | Murder Ink | Writer | Television Movie |
| 1985 | Crazy Like a Fox | Executive Story Consultant | 4 Episodes |
| 1986 | MacGyver | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1987 | Adderly | Executive Story Consultant | 1 Episode |
| 1995 | The Marshal | Writer | 1 Episode |