notableworks birth_date genre article_title name occupation
'' the pilot '' 8 october 1929 aviation robert p. davis
 robert p. davis screenwriter , author
robert p. davis

robert p. davis -lrb- born october 8 , 1929 -rrb- is an american author , screenwriter , and film director whose works are primarily centered on aviation .
his 1960 short film , `` day of the painter '' , won an academy award in 1961 for best short subject .
davis 's 1976 novel `` the pilot , '' about an alcohol-abusing airline captain , served as the source material for his screenplay for the motion picture of the same title , released in 1980 , in which cliff robertson acted out the lead role and which robertson also directed .
